Germany has a corporate tax rate of 30%. Companies that operate under VAT have to pay tax on purchases at 19%. Certain services, like those related to some foodstuffs, water supplies, medical equipment for disabled persons, some domestic passenger transport, intra-community and international passenger transport for certain road, rail and inland waterway transportation, and others, benefit from a 7% VAT rate. Popular company applications German corporate structures are mostly used for: VAT company Ready-made company Trading company Corporate Registration requirements Requirements for registering a company in Germany include: Requires at least 1 director Requires at least 1 shareholder Minimum share capital 25 000 EUR