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Germany, Poland Adjust Tax Treaty For Cross-Border Workers

By Todd Buell · 2020-12-09 17:35:50 -0500

Germany and Poland have adjusted their tax treaty so that cross-border employees can be taxed where they normally work if they are homebound due to pandemic restrictions, the German Finance Ministry said.

The agreement is valid from Mar. 11 until Dec. 31 this year and extends automatically from the end of this year as long as neither party cancels it, according to a ministry document dated Tuesday. The document was signed by a German representative on Nov. 12 and by the Polish counterpart on Nov. 27.

Throughout the pandemic, Germany has adjusted its tax treaties with countries on its borders to clarify the tax status of workers who regularly cross borders to go to work. It recently extended an agreement with the Netherlands until at least the end of the year and has reached agreements with six other countries with which it shares a border.

The agreement reached between Germany and Poland applies only to wages not earned in a freelance capacity and only those earned via work that is being carried out in the home office due to restrictions to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The agreement specifies that it does not apply to workdays that are spent in the home office or in an additional country for reasons other than coronavirus measures. Moreover, employees who work from home according to their contract are not entitled to the concession outlined in the agreement, it said.

--Editing by Vincent Sherry. 

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