The New German Inheritance and Gift Tax Act

It was a close call, but eventually the German legislativebody managed to save the Inheritance andGift Tax Act (Erbschafts- und Schenkungssteuergesetz)from being automatically abolished. In fact, abolishingthe inheritance tax is not an uncommon measure inCentral Europe. As of August 1, 2008, Austria nolonger enforces inheritance tax, because the Austriangovernment did not comply with guidelines of the AustrianConstitution Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof),which set a deadline to remove the deemed unconstitutionalityof the inheritance tax base.[...]