Philippine Court Confirms Gain on Sale of Company Shares Not Taxable under German Tax Treaty Unless Principally Deriving Value from Immovable Property

The Philippine Court of Tax Appeals issued a decision on 24 April 2024 regarding the taxation of the sale of a Philippine subsidiary by one German company to another. In 2020, German company Siemens AG sold all its shares in the Philippine company Siemens Power Operations Inc. (SPO) to Siemens Gas and Power GmbH & Co. KG (Siemens GmbH). In March of that year, Siemens AG filed a capital gains tax return in the Philippines for the sale and paid approximately PHP 41 million in tax. In 2021,…