Knowledge
25 Minute
Direct answer: The exit tax is not a general emigration ban and does not automatically affect every private person who leaves Germany. It will be critical in particular if entrepreneurs or wealthy individuals take out relevant investments, certain investment shares, gifts or a restriction of German taxation rights. Anyone who wants to arrange a company, holding company or assets internationally should therefore first have facts, participations, residence, substance, bankability and documentation checked.
The political debate changes very little at all. As long as the current rules in Clause 6 AStG and the extended investment rules apply, must be expected with a real application. The right way is therefore not panic, but a resilient structure check before moving, transferring or building a foreign company.
Why the fear of the exit tax is so great
Many entrepreneurs associate the exit tax with a hard thought: a tax can arise, although no shares have been sold and no liquidity flows to it. It is precisely this point that makes the subject so sensitive. This affects not only abstract tax issues, but also private life planning, corporate structure, succession, holding establishment, banking issues and reputation.
The core lies in the so-called deemed disposal. Paragraph 6 AStG equates certain changes to an amendment. This includes the cessation of residence or residence, a free transfer to a taxable person who is not subject to unlimited tax liability, and cases in which German taxation law is excluded or restricted. The professional qualification belongs to licensed tax consultants and lawyers. The Budapester arranges the structural questions, documents, shareholding routes, country logic and next steps.
How far will policymakers implement this
As of 18. August 2026 is crucial, what applies, not what is discussed politically. The German Bundestag reported on 5. November 2025 a motion by a political group to delete the exit tax. Such a motion shows debate, but not yet a change in the legal situation. At the same time, the Federal Ministry of Finance on 12. In December 2025, a revised model form for the application of the exit tax according to Clause 6 AStG and Clause 19 paragraph 3 and Clause 49 paragraph 5 InvStG was announced. In practice, this speaks more for an orderly application than for an immediate disappearance of the topic.
Therefore, the cautious answer is: policy can change, simplify or rebalance rules. Until an effective legislative change, however, the exit tax remains a testable risk point. A structure should not be built on hope, but on current law, documentation and professional evaluation.
Who the exit tax can meet
Particular attention should be paid to persons who, within the last twelve years prior to the relevant event, were subject to a total of at least seven years’ unlimited tax liability in Germany and hold shares that fall within the scope of application. For corporations, the participation in relation to paragraph 17 EStG is important. In practice, it is often GmbH, UG, AG, foreign corporations or investments within a holding structure.
Since the new investment rules, certain investment shares and special investment shares have also come into focus. Clause 19 InvStG and Clause 49 InvStG contain separate connections which are based on the removal logic. It does not follow that every depot is automatically affected. However, it follows that larger private assets, fund shares and special structures should be checked before leaving.
Equally important: It is not only about the classic move abroad. Transfers, gifts, successions, intermediaries, changed management or dual residence can also solve tax issues. This is precisely where many mistakes arise, because the form is planned faster than the tax reality.
What is often misunderstood
A move does not automatically trigger the same sequence for every person. Crucial are participation, period, tax status, asset type, performance, destination country, double taxation agreement, residence, actual management and documentation. A blanket answer would be unserioes.
Equally dangerous is the counterposition: a foreign company simply loese the topic. Dubai, Cyprus, Malta, Gibraltar, Moldova or a US LLC are not an automatic standard solution for entrepreneurs with Germany or Europe. Practically count compliance, actual center of management, substance, banking ability, accounting, means of proof and the question of which authority sees which reality.
The solution is therefore not a country, a legal form or an advertising promise. The solution begins with a robust inventory.
Budapest Tools: The decision-making process before moving
The Budapest tools are not legal instruments. They are a practical regulatory framework before legal professionals make the tax and legal assessment.
1. Objective before legal form
First comes the question of what should be achieved: private change of residence, company succession, holding company development, sale of shares, asset protection, operational expansion or crisis unbundling. Only then does a structure fit.
2. Separate ownership of risk
A shareholding, an operating company, private assets and future succession belonging neatly considered separately. Property protection does not mean hiding. It means orderly competence, documentation and clear lines of risk.
3. Management and Substance Control
A company abroad needs more than one address. Who really decides, where are documents, who signs, which bank understands the model, what accounting it depicts and which documents withstand a test later.
4. Landing logic instead of landing romance
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Hungary and England have different strengths. A meaningful structure only emerges when legal space, banking, tax assessment, language, contact and operational reality fit together.
5. Technical verification before implementation
The Budapester coordinates the path to verification, puts together the right team and arranges documents, timing and implementation. Tax and legal statements are made by licensed tax consultants, lawyers, auditors or other qualified professionals.
What to Test Before Each Structure
A meaningful structure check starts with a list that is uncomfortably clear. Which investments exist directly or indirectly? Since when is German unlimited tax liability? What hidden reserves could there be? Are there free transfers, planned donations or successor plans? What role do investment shares or special investment shares play? Where is the actual management? Which bank should support the structure? What documentation already exists?
Then there is the question of the route. Is an existing holding structure ordered? Is a new company being prepared? Is an operational expansion being established? Is Hungary a real business location or just an idea? In Hungary, specific social issues can HUNCONSULT be relevant as a technical address. But the reference must actually fit.
What possibilities can be built up
Depending on the individual case, it is possible to have orderly holding structures, clear shareholding structure, clean documentation of the management, preparation of a successor, separation of operational risk and ownership, establishment of a foreign company capable of banking or the integration of qualified partners in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Hungary and England.
This is not a promise for tax savings and no substitute for expert advice. Good structural work has another goal: to make risks visible early, clarify decision-making processes, prepare documents and prevent a quick solution abroad from appearing later as an imperfect reality.
Next step
Anyone who seriously checks removal, holding structure, foreign company or asset protection should not start with the destination country. The first step is an orderly structure check: participations, residence, management, bank, documents, family, succession and schedule.
Sources
- Clause 6 AStG for laws on the Internet
- Federal Ministry of Finance on the exit tax form of 12. December 2025
- Section 19 InvStG for laws on the Internet
- Section 49 InvStG for laws on the Internet
- German Bundestag, hib report of 5. November 2025
Legal delimitation: This contribution is an entrepreneurial orientation. Norbert Péter is not a lawyer or a tax consultant. Tax and legal evaluation, design and implementation belong to the professional evaluation by licensed professionals.
