The situation
Amendments to Austrian and German tax law in the last quarter
Your firm in Salzburg advises owner-managed businesses on both sides of the border and sends a newsletter to 600 clients every quarter. This issue is due in two weeks. Three advisors have each sent a paragraph, in different styles, and one paragraph describes a bill that has not yet passed.
Writing the newsletter is not the hard part. The hours go on checking that each change has actually been enacted, from which date it applies, what the transitional rules say, and whether a client in Munich and a client in Salzburg are affected in the same way. Then on making it read as one document.
What the research has to settle
The rules behind the answer
- Enacted, published, in force
- Report a change as law once it is enacted and published. The date it enters into force and the date from which it applies can differ, and transitional rules often decide which clients it reaches this year.
- Compare the versions, not the summaries
- Each item should name the act amended and say what the provision said before and after. Reading the two versions side by side shows the change itself rather than someone’s summary of it.
- Separate law from announcements
- Government drafts, coalition announcements and administrative guidance are news, but clients act on them differently. Label each item as enacted law, draft or guidance.
- Say which country each item concerns
- An Austrian and a German change on the same subject rarely work the same way. A newsletter for clients on both sides of the border should make the country of each item plain.
How it runs in azta
From the question to the document
The question, as you would type it
Which amendments to Austrian and German income tax, VAT and payroll rules were published between 1 July and 30 September 2026? For each, give the amending act, the in-force date, any transitional rule and which businesses are affected.
You start with
Amendments to Austrian and German tax law in the last quarter
- 01
Ask what changed
Ask for the amendments to income tax, VAT and payroll rules published in the quarter. azta searches the legislation it indexes daily and cites each amending act.
Cited research· Free - 02
Compare the versions
Open each amended provision in the statute reader and compare the version before and after, with the in-force dates shown.
Atlas statute reader - 03
Draft the newsletter
Ask for one item per change with what changed, from when and who is affected. Edit it in Canvas so the three contributions read as one voice.
Canvas · Ask azta· Pro - 04
Put it on the firm’s letterhead
On Enterprise, firm templates apply your letterhead, fonts and disclaimers, so every issue leaves in the same form.
Firm templates· Enterprise You send
A client newsletter draft, each item with its in-force date and source
What you get
A client newsletter draft, each item with its in-force date and source
Client newsletter · draft
Tax changes this quarter: what applies to you, and from when
This issue covers the changes published in Austria and Germany between July and September. Each item names the law that was amended, the date from which it applies and the businesses it affects. Items that are still drafts are marked as such.
E-invoices in Germany. Since 1 January 2025, businesses in Germany must be able to receive electronic invoices for domestic business-to-business supplies. The duty to issue them is being phased in. If your company invoices German business customers, please check with us which date applies to you.
How to use this issue. Each item ends with the action we recommend and the date by which to take it. If an item affects you and you are unsure what to do, reply to this email and your advisor will call you.
Outcomes on your numbers
What azta is worth on this task
Pro pays for itself after
11 minutes a month
At €150 an hour, that is all the time Pro (€27 a month) has to take off your desk to cover its price.
Example figures. Replace them with your own.
- Hours back a year
- 36
- Capacity at your rate
- €5,400
- More newsletter issues a quarter
- 0.8
- Return on Pro
- 16.7×
- Research
- Drafting
- Your review
A scenario you set, not a promise. The hours that come back go to another client, or deeper into this one.
Want these numbers on your team’s real workload?
Book a demoSources azta searches here
- RIS
- Gesetze im Internet
- Rechtsprechung im Internet
What stays with you
- Choosing which changes matter to your clients.
- The firm’s view on what clients should do.
- Approving the issue before it goes out.
Frequently asked questions
- How current is the legislation azta searches?
- Legislation is indexed daily, and every citation shows the provision’s in-force status.
- Can it show a provision before and after an amendment?
- Yes. The statute reader compares versions, and you can ask about the law at a past date.
- Can the newsletter carry our branding?
- On Enterprise, firm templates apply your letterhead, fonts and disclaimers. On Pro, you export to Word and apply your own template.
