The draft of the Tax Act 2009 has passed Cabinet on June 18^th, 2008. In comparison with the initial draft version of the Tax Act 2009, which had been released by the Federal Ministry of Finance on April 28^th, 2008, there have been some significant changes. All intended amendments regarding real estate investment trusts (REITs) have been deleted. Furthermore, the highly debated changes of the participation privilege (95 % tax exemption for dividends and capital gains) are not included in the draft bill. However, these changes are still subject to political discussion, and it appears not unlikely that the participation privilege will be amended to a certain extent. One of the main aims of the bill is the implementation of EU law and ECJ decisions. Therefore, the provisions regarding the taxation of non-resident taxpayers have been significantly amended. The withholding tax regime will be modified. However, the bill also includes amendments in order to avoid tax deficits. The draft bill does not include any amendments regarding the interest limitation rules, even though such amendments have been demanded on the part of the industry and the organisations for German tax advisors.