Questão jurídica principal
Whether an atypically silent shareholder qualifies as a co-entrepreneur under § 15(1) sentence 1 no. 2 EStG without bearing loss risk.
Decisão extraída
Co-entrepreneurship requires both entrepreneurial initiative and entrepreneurial risk; if the contract excludes participation in losses, the required entrepreneurial risk is absent and co-entrepreneurship is ruled out.
Fundamentação extraída
The court held that the two elements may be weighted differently but must both be present cumulatively. A contractual exclusion of loss participation means the silent partner does not bear the necessary risk.