Current as of July 2019, Cheat22.com lawfully declares the followings:
Germany is a federal civil law country with three primary forms of nongovernmental, not-for-profit organizations (NPOs):

Tax Laws
Generally, only those NPOs that exclusively and directly pursue public benefit, benevolent, and church-related purposes are exempted from Germany’s corporation tax (Körperschaftsteuer), commercial tax (Gewerbesteuer), and gift and inheritance tax (Erbschaft-und Schenkungsteuer). Sections 52-54 of the Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung, or AO) describe these exempted purposes.

Associations (Vereine)
An association (Verein) is a membership organization whose members have come together to permanently pursue a common purpose. Both public benefit and mutual benefit associations are permitted. For that reason, the designation “e.V.” (eingetragener Verein, which describes the status of a formal association) does not reflect the existence of a public benefit organization, nor does it reflect its tax status.

Non Profit Foundations (Stiftungen)
A foundation (Stiftung) established under Sections 80-88 of the Civil Code (Stiftungen bürgerlichen Rechts) is a legal entity whose earnings on assets are used to pursue a specific purpose set forth by the founder. The current federal legislation in the Civil Code, which was modified in 2002 (Law to Modernize the Foundation Law – Gesetz zur
Under the Civil Code, a foundation has legal personality which it receives upon recognition by the competent authority in the state (Land) in which the foundation seeks to be headquartered (Civil Code §80). The authority must recognize the foundation if it meets the legal requirements. Both natural and legal persons may be the founder of a foundation. Section 80 also provides that foundations may be established for any lawful purpose, including family foundations. There is some disagreement, however, as to whether it is permissible to have a “foundation for the founder,” in which the founder is the only beneficiary. The mainstream view does not accept this as a valid foundation.

ublic Benefit Status
There is no special legal form for NPOs with a public benefit purpose. As described above, a foundation or association can be formed for private benefit, public benefit, or—in the cases of associations and corporate enterprises—mutual benefit purposes. Nonetheless, public benefit organizations (organizations serving the general interest) may enjoy special tax benefits if they meet the requirements of the tax law.

Proprietary Interest
As stated above, to be eligible for tax-exempt status, an NPO must carry out its tax-privileged purpose altruistically, exclusively, and directly. Foundations may, however, spend up to one-third of their income to support the founder and his or her close relatives, or to care for their graves and the remembrance of the founders (Fiscal Code 58(5)). For NPOs formed as corporate enterprises, the Fiscal Code states that shareholders may receive their initial cash contribution and the fair market value of their in-kind capital contributions upon dissolution or termination of their membership (Fiscal Code 55).

Dissolution
If a tax-exempt organization is dissolved, either voluntarily or involuntarily, the remaining assets must be used for similar, tax-privileged purposes. This requirement is met if remaining assets are transferred to an organization pursuing tax-privileged purposes, or to the state for the pursuit of tax-privileged purposes (Fiscal Code 55).

In the case of an NPO formed as a corporate enterprise, shareholders can receive a return of no more than their capital contribution and the fair market value of their in-kind capital contributions. The remaining assets must then be distributed for tax-exempt purposes.

Regarding foundations, the merging of two or more foundations is also possible.

Activities
1. General Activities
As stated above, German NPOs may be formed as legal persons or as entities without legal personality. As legal persons, they are permitted to engage in all legal activities of corporate bodies except as provided otherwise by the laws discussed in this Note.
2. Public Benefit Activities
As stated above, the term “public benefit activities” is not related to or dependent on the form of organization. A foundation, association, or corporate enterprise can be formed for either public or private benefit purposes.

Discrimination
The German Constitution includes basic legal prohibitions against discrimination. Article 3 provides that all persons are equal before the law, and that it is the responsibility of the state to eliminate existing inequality between the sexes. Article 3 further prohibits unequal treatment on the grounds of sex, parentage, race, language, homeland and origin, faith, religious or political opinions, and disability.

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