Conservation vs. generation in relation to income from VuV: Comparative Law: Austria and Germany

This paper examines the distinction between maintenance and production costs in tax law, which plays a decisive role in determining the period during which such costs are deductible. The focus is on the deductibility of income from non-business activities. The paper is based not only on the current legal situation, recent case law and commentaries from specialist journals, but also takes into account the changes introduced as part of the 2015/2016 tax reform. The thesis thus provides a concise and, above all, up-to-date guide for all taxpayers who generate income from letting and leasing within the meaning of Section 28 of the Income Tax Act 1988. A section of the thesis devoted to academic research will focus on a comparative legal analysis. It will examine the current legal situation regarding maintenance and production costs of surplus income in Germany. The author will investigate whether there are differences from Austrian tax law and, if so, what these are.