Michael’s main areas of expertise include German company taxation, tax accounting law and procedural law in tax matters. In particular, Michael is a renowned expert in the field of taxation of partnerships, one of the main areas in which YPOG provides tax advice.
Education and Career
Michael is a graduate in tax administration and studied law in Münster. During and after his studies he was employed by a firm of tax advisors.
Michael started his professional career as a judge at the Münster Tax Court. In 1992, he was seconded to the Ministry of Justice of the German state (Land) of Brandenburg; in 1995, he was appointed presiding judge at the Tax Court of the state of Brandenburg. Very soon after, in 1996, Michael was appointed judge at the Munich-based Federal Fiscal Court, Germany’s highest court in tax matters.
When he was made presiding judge at the Federal Fiscal Court in 2010, he simultaneously assumed the presidency of the IV Senate.
In addition to serving as a judge, Michael assumed the role of the Federal Fiscal Court’s spokesperson (2006–2011). In August 2021, Michael reached the statutory age limit for judges.
Moreover, Michael was as a lecturer at Munich’s Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) and taught master-program students at Münster University.
Qualifications
- German qualified attorney (Rechtsanwalt)
- German qualified tax advisor (Steuerberater)
- Graduate in tax administration (Diplom-Finanzwirt)
Languages
- German
- English
Selection from Michael’s numerous publications in the field of tax law:
- Highlights from case law on the company taxation of partnerships,
StbJb 2020/2021, p. 3 [in German] - Restructuring processes in the context of partnerships,
in: Hennrichs (ed.), Restructuring under Tax Law, DStJG vol. 43, Cologne 2020, p. 199 [in German] - The extended trade-tax deduction from trade income for real-estate companies – new case law by Germany’s Federal Fiscal Court regarding the exclusivity requirement,
in: Brandt (ed.), 17th Conference on Fiscal Jurisdiction, Stuttgart 2020, p. 101 [in German] - Contribution of economic assets that have arisen in the private assets, or: how to turn gravel into “dough”
FR 2020, p. 593 [in German] - “Gray areas” of the case law in tax matters,
in: Drüen/Hey/Mellinghoff (eds.), 100 Years of Case Law in Tax Matters in Germany 1918–2018, Festschrift für [Commemorative publication in honor of] the Federal Fiscal Court, Cologne 2018, p. 399 [in German] - Income-tax-neutral corporate succession by way of continuation at book value,
in: Fischer/Geck/Haarmann (eds.), Civil-Law Structure and Tax Law, Festschrift in honor of Georg Crezelius, Cologne 2018, p. 457 [in German] - Departure in return for non-cash compensation – “non-genuine” division of assets in the context of partnerships,
FR 2016, p. 536 [in German] - Accounting Law,
in: Kube/Mellinghoff/Morgenthaler/Palm/Puhl/Seiler (eds.), Guiding Principles of the Law, for Paul Kirchhof on the occasion of his 70th birthday, Heidelberg 2013, p. 1961 [in German] - Fiction of continuation in the context of the lease of a business and the interruption of business pursuant to sec. 16(3b) EStG [German Income Tax Act],
FR 2011, p. 1023 [in German] - Acquisition-related production costs – initial experience with sec. 6(1) no. 1a EStG [German Income Tax Act],
in: Mellinghoff/Schön/Viskorf (eds.), Tax Law in States Governed by the Rule of Law, Festschrift in honor of Wolfgang Spindler, Cologne 2011, p. 879 [in German] - Division of assets and departure in return for non-cash compensation – precedence for the principle of continuity?,
in: Tipke/Seer/Hey/Englisch (eds.), Structuring the Tax-Law System, Festschrift in honor of Joachim Lang, Cologne 2010, p. 699 [in German] - Sec. 42 AO [German General Tax Code] against the background of the case law,
in: Freedom to Structure, and Abuse of that Freedom, in Tax Law, DStJG vol. 33, Cologne 2010, p. 117 [in German] - Partners’ accounts with partnerships and their significance during a crisis,
Stbg 2010, p. 145 [in German] - How material is the principle of materiality for tax balance sheets?,
in: Kessler/Förster/Watrin (eds.), Company Taxation, Festschrift in honor of Norbert Herzig, Munich 2010, p. 517 [in German] - Draft Act regarding the determination of profits for tax purposes – a building block in the “Tax Code” project of the Stiftung Marktwirtschaft [Market-Economy Foundation],
in: Oestreicher (ed.), Reform of Company Taxation: Let’s Discuss Different Paths, Herne 2007, p. 189 [in German] - Principles of making allowance for losses,
in: Losses under Tax Law, DStJG vol. 29, Cologne 2004, p. 41 [in German]
Commentaries:
- Herrmann/Heuer/Raupach, EStG [German Income Tax Act] / GewStG [German Trade Tax Act],
loose-leaf publication, Cologne (co editor with overall responsibility) [in German] - Wendt/Suchanek/Möllmann/Heinemann, GewStG [German Trade Tax Act],
Cologne 2019 (co editor) [in German] - Leingärtner, Taxation of Farmers,
loose-leaf publication, Munich [in German]
Direct message to Michael Wendt