Both companies and investors regularly ask themselves which tax aspects have to be considered for spin-offs. Let's stick to one of the above examples to illustrate the background.
When the Siemens subsidiary Osram went public, the so-called "Amtshilferichtlinienumsetzungsgesetz" was amended almost simultaneously. Among other things, some passages of the Income Tax Act were newly regulated. Since then, investors holding spin-off shares have been particularly affected.
In the model Osram case, Siemens shares were exchanged for Osram shares at a ratio of 10:1. This process initially led neither to profits nor losses for investors. The spin-off was therefore tax neutral.
However, the acquisition costs must now be apportioned 10:1 between the securities of the two companies. This resulted in an individual purchase price for each Osram shareholder. For example, if a shareholder had purchased 10 Siemens shares in 2009 for 77 euros each, the total value of his package was 770 euros.
The investor then received one Osram share for these ten shares in the spin-off. One eleventh of the acquisition cost - i.e. 70 euros - is therefore the purchase price for the Osram share. If the share were sold today at a price of 20 euros, for example, this would represent a tax-relevant loss. Conversely, the tax-relevant gain on the sale of the Siemens shares would be higher, as the acquisition cost has been reduced by one eleventh.