Cooperative reimbursement

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The term cooperative reimbursement is understood in German and Austrian cooperative law as a form of distribution of the annual profit to the members . It depends on the turnover that the cooperative has achieved from doing business with its members. The cooperative reimbursement is usually calculated on a pro rata basis in relation to the sales made with the respective member in the financial year. Refunds can be found at agricultural commodity, usage and production cooperatives, as well as commercial trade cooperatives and occasionally credit cooperatives .

meaning

The cooperative reimbursement represented a particular attraction for the acquisition and retention of members of the consumer cooperatives , especially in the first decades after its establishment . Due to the intensification of competition in the retail trade and the corresponding pressure on the daily prices , however, reimbursement services turned out to be increasingly problematic. The general reduction of the margins meant that the consumer cooperatives often had difficulties in generating the traditional reimbursement, which in many countries is still regarded as one of the most important cooperative characteristics. In the past, withholding part of the reimbursement was also a traditional source of additional equity for the cooperatives. The disappearance of the reimbursement has therefore not only become a problem of cooperative identity but also of self-financing, because members who do not receive any reimbursement tend to their shares to withdraw.

Legal classification

The cooperative reimbursement is not a profit distribution or a discount for individual transactions, but the (partial) distribution of the gross profit generated in the reporting year. It is an expression of the basic idea that a cooperative is not aimed at making a profit and, from the member's point of view, means a flat-rate adjustment of the price paid by him to the cooperative for goods and services. The cooperative reimbursement is based on the principle that the transactions between the member and the cooperative are processed at current prices. The subsequent distribution after the use of the cooperative business operations is part of the cooperative support service.

Cooperative reimbursements are to be distinguished from general reimbursements in the form of cash discounts , rebates or bonuses , which, in contrast to the cooperative reimbursements, are granted to all customers of the cooperative.

Legal situation in Germany

Legal historical development

This special form of reimbursement arose as early as the 19th century in the form of reimbursement of goods. It gained importance in connection with the taxation of cooperatives and was the first subject of jurisprudence in the decision of the Prussian Higher Administrative Court of October 14, 1897. In terms of income tax treatment, the corporation tax laws from 1920 and 1925 initially contained an almost complete tax exemption for cooperatives and their income; it was not until the corporation tax law of 1934 contained a tax liability for cooperatives, which was comparable to other corporations under private law. Due to an authorization in the KStG 1934, the "Regulation on the KSt of the acquisition and economic cooperatives" was issued on December 8, 1939, in which the deductibility of reimbursements for goods was regulated for the first time when determining the profit of the cooperative. In a judgment of August 25, 1953, the Federal Fiscal Court declared this regulation to have lapsed, whereupon Section 35 of the KStDV 1955 of December 23, 1955 standardized the tax treatment of goods reimbursements in the form that ultimately applies in the currently valid version of Section 22 of the KStG is found.

There is no legal basis for the cooperative reimbursement in the German and Austrian cooperative laws. In contrast, there is something for the European Cooperative Society 66 of Regulation (EC) No 1435/2003 of 22 July 2003 on the Statute for a European Cooperative Society (SCE) in Art.. An express provision to reimbursements.

Tax treatment

By its very nature, cooperative rebates are a form of profit sharing because they are rooted in membership. Since a cooperative is not geared towards making a profit, the profit made by it in business with its members should be returned to the members. This takes place in the form of the cooperative reimbursement. Due to this dual function, § 22 KStG provides for the basic deduction of this reimbursement as a business expense, but at the same time limits it according to the amount. As a result, the aim is to ensure that the cooperative reimbursement can only be deducted as an operating expense to the extent that it was actually generated in the member business.

In terms of sales tax, the cooperative reimbursement is a subsequent increase in the fee within the meaning of Section 17 UStG for sales in the member business. As a result, the sales tax due on the cooperative reimbursement is deductible as input tax on the part of the cooperative, while the member has to pay it as sales tax to the tax office.

The cooperative reimbursements are to be recognized as a liability or provision in the annual financial statements for the year to which they belong economically.

Legal situation in Austria

Tax treatment

According to the Austrian corporation tax law, according to § 8 para. 3 no. 2 KStG, cooperative reimbursements represent a form of income use and are therefore not deductible as business expenses. From the member's perspective, there is income from capital assets that is subject to capital gains tax. If the member is a legal person, the tax exemption according to § 10 para. 1 no. 2 KStG into consideration.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ see Gablers Wirtschaftslexikon, http://wirtschaftslexikon.gabler.de/Definition/rueckverguetung.html
  2. ^ Johann Brazda and Robert Schediwy: Consumer cooperatives in structural change in economy and society (magazine) (1989), p. 63 ff .; 76, http://wug.akwien.at/WUG_Archiv/1989_15_1/1989_15_1_0063.pdf .
  3. ^ Lang / Weidmüller: Cooperative Law. Margin no. 27 to § 19.
  4. ^ Lang / Weidmüller: Cooperative Law. Margin no. 25 to § 19.
  5. ^ Lang / Weidmüller: Cooperative Law. Margin no. 24 to § 19.
  6. ^ Lang / Weidmüller: Cooperative Law. Margin no. 26 to § 19.
  7. ↑ a b c Dötsch / Pung / Möhlenbrock (ed.): The corporation tax. Schäffer-Poeschel Verlag, 2010, commentary on § 22 KStG, margin no. 6th
  8. ↑ BFH of August 25, 1953, Az. I 38/53 U, BStBl. 1954 III p. 36.
  9. ↑ Dötsch / Pung / Möhlenbrock (ed.): The corporation tax. Schäffer-Poeschel Verlag, 2010, commentary on § 22 KStG, margin no. 3.
  10. ^ Lippross / Heidemann (ed.): Basic commentary on tax law. Publishing house Dr. Otto Schmidt KG, 2006, commentary on § 22 KStG, margin no. 6th
  11. ↑ BFH of June 6, 2002, Az. VR 59/00, BStBl 2003 II, p. 215.
  12. ↑ Dötsch / Pung / Möhlenbrock (ed.): The corporation tax. Schäffer-Poeschel Verlag, 2010, commentary on § 22 KStG, margin no. 56.
  13. ↑ margin no. 559 KStR 2013