Hello,
I am an Australian citizen working and living fuil time in Germany for a German employer. I am currently a non-resident for Australian tax purposes. I am trying to understand my German Tax obligations as they apply to my Australian super fund while working in Germany both in accumulation and retirement (maybe I retire here, but that's 20+ years away). I anticipate in retirement I would convert my super into an income stream rather than an annuity.
This should be covered by the bilateral tax agreement between AU and DE. Unfortunately, the treaty does not explicitly deal with super, however I have found a reference to super in an explanatory memorandum from the Australian parliament here (parlinfo) which states:
1.108 While there is no specific rule in Article 4 (Resident) addressing the residence of Australian superannuation funds, during negotiations the delegations agreed that:
‘an Australian superannuation fund would be regarded as a resident of Australia, notwithstanding that the trustee of such a fund is responsible for the fund's tax obligations under Australia's domestic law.'
1.109This accords with Australia's understanding of how the Resident Articles in Australia's bilateral tax treaties would generally apply to Australian superannuation funds.
i have consulted a tax accountant in Germany, but they could only make guesses and assumptions as to how super will be treated in Germany (there is no direct German equivalent).
Can anyone provide advice on how AU super funds are treated in Germany according to the treaty, both in the accumulation phase and in retirement? Does the above text referencing "the fund is resident of Australia" mean that Germany will not tax it at any stage?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, I have no idea where else to get binding advice.
Cheers.
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