Are contributions from a partnership for employed lawyers for property damage liability insurance to be treated as wages? This has not yet been finally clarified.
Are contributions from a partnership for employed lawyers for property damage liability insurance to be treated as wages? This has not yet been finally clarified.
BFH to take over the contributions
The BFH decided that the contributions to professional liability insurance should be taken over an employed lawyer by the employer too Wages leads, because this is obliged to take out insurance according to § 51 BRAO and therefore a predominantly internal interest of the employer is ruled out (BFH, judgment of July 26, 2007, VI R 64/06). In the case of the verdict, the employed lawyer had as a policyholder and beneficiaries have taken out professional liability insurance, their employer paid the insurance contributions.
BFH for the acquisition of personal liability insurance cover by the employer
On the other hand, the BFH decided that the acquisition own liability insurance protection by the employer, in the event of a judgment one Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft-GmbH, to none Considerable under wage tax law advantage for employees (BFH, judgment of November 19, 2015, VI R 74/14). The Rechtsanwalts-GmbH has insured its own professional activity by taking out professional liability insurance and has thus given its employees neither money nor any pecuniary benefit in the form of insurance protection.
Likewise, the own professional liability insurance one Rechtsanwalts-GbR not for wages for employed lawyers (BFH, judgment of March 10, 2016, VI R 58/14). In the case of the judgment, lawyers employed by a GbR who were not shareholders had taken out property damage liability insurance for an amount insured of EUR 250,000 per claim in their own name and for their own account. In addition, there was “pecuniary damage liability insurance with regard to these employed lawyers” in the name and for the account of the GbR with a sum insured of EUR 1 million per claim.
Judgment of the FG Thuringia on extended insurance coverage
Payment of contributions to in your own name and for your own account concluded professional liability insurance (financial loss liability insurance) a Rechtsanwalts-GbR for their own “activity as a lawyer” is in the opinion of the FG Thuringia even then no wages for lawyers employed by the GbR, if the GbR as the employer has chosen insurance cover that exceeds the minimum sum insured (§ 51 BRAO) and the insurance cover also extends to the employed lawyers named in the annex to the insurance policy (FG Thuringia, judgment of 8.11 .2017, 3 K 337/17; Az. Of revision VI R 12/18).
New ruling by the Rhineland-Palatinate FG
The Rhineland-Palatinate FG affirmed wages in one case in which a partnership had taken out property damage liability insurance. In addition to the co-insured shareholders, the “statutory liability” of 38 lawyers was insured up to an insured amount of 10,000,000 EUR (FG Rhineland-Palatinate, judgment of 9.9.2020, 2 K 1486/17, rev. Pending under Az. VI R 42/20).
With regard to the pending revisions, corresponding notices should be challenged.
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