The Status of Mutual Agreement between the Netherlands and Germany on the Allocation of Severance Payments

The Netherlands Supreme Court has ruled that, under article 10 (income from dependent personal services) of the former Germany-Netherlands Income Tax Treaty (1959), severance payments should be allocated according to the Court’s previous case law. Any conflicting result that may be arrived at by the competent authorities of the two contracting states under a mutual agreement procedure (under article 25(2) of the Treaty) must not be allowed to disadvantage the relevant taxpayer.