It's official - a bread roll and a coffee does not a breakfast make... at least in Germany.
A court in the German city of Munster has decreed that bread and hot drinks must be accompanied by cold cuts, cheese or spreads in order to constitute a complete breakfast.
The court was examining the case of a software company which had been providing free hot drinks and plain bread rolls for their 80 staff members, as well as any customers and guests each day.
The tax office judged this as a "free provision of a meal to the employee in the form of a breakfast" and charged the company an additional tax payment of €1.50 to €1.57 per employee per day, which is roughly $A2.25 per employee per day.
The tax office had backdated the amount to cover a period from from December 2008 to December 2011. The resulting bill would have easily topped €100,000 ($A150,000).
Aussenansicht: Finanzgericht Münster Source: Finanzgericht
The company took the matter to court and judges in the case decided that their staff perk was not worthy of the term breakfast due to the lack of spreads or other toppings or fillings with the bread rolls (although apparently the "rolls" did sometimes stretch to chocolate rolls and raisin bread).
A roll and a coffee might not be the most exciting offering, but a free meal is a free meal - even if it's not officially breakfast.
Other stories about tax and money
Wie ich mein Geld von Deutschland nach Australien bringe und umgekehrt
