Group Tax is the central Tax Department within the holding company. The team is responsible for all tax compliance matters relating to the German group companies, as well as group-wide tax issues. Every quarter, the team consolidates and reports the group’s tax positions for financial reporting purposes. Over the past three years, it has grown from a small department of one employee to a group of six.

Of course, this growth was not an end in itself. “The tax environment for corporations is becoming increasingly complex worldwide. Compliance and documentation requirements are becoming more challenging,” tells us Carsten Kaufhold, Head of Group Tax. The team is currently particularly concerned with group-wide transfer pricing documentation and Pillar 2 reporting, which is a complete new requirement. Additionally, stakeholders, such as banks and insurance companies, are showing increased interest in the group’s tax positions and effective tax rate.

As Sarah Best, Tax Specialist, explains, it is crucial to emphasize the significant influence of tax issues on the entire business: “Many colleagues underestimate how complex taxation is and the ultimate impact taxes can have on the success of a transaction. Errors in assessing tax issues can destroy a transaction’s margin. Furthermore, colleagues often underestimate how advanced tax authorities around the world are and what information they can now obtain.”

At first glance, one might think that Tax work is primarily about facts and figures, but that would be an oversimplification. “As a tax department, we thrive on information, which is why we strive to maintain good communication with our colleagues in neighboring departments and group companies,” says Nataliya Link, Senior Manager Transfer Pricing. However, it is also part of the department’s job to not always deliver good news. “Unfortunately, we are often the bearers of ‘bad’ news whenever we have to point out that something does not work or is not permitted for tax reasons,” explains Nils Beck, Manager Group Taxes. “This is not done out of malice, but because we want to protect the companies and their management.”