[15] Income taxes

The income tax expense of €90.7 million (2019: €176.8 million) consisted of €145.2 million in current tax expense (2019: €212.8 million) and €54.5 million in deferred tax income (2019: €36.0 million).

The current corporate income tax rate in Germany is 15.0 percent plus a solidarity surcharge (5.5 percent of corporate income tax). Taking into account the average trade tax rate of 14.9 percent (2019: 14.9 percent), the combined nominal tax rate for entities in Germany was 30.7 percent (2019: 30.7 percent). The income tax rates for foreign companies used in the calculation of deferred taxes were between 9.0 percent and 34.0 percent, as was also the case in 2019.

Deferred tax assets were allocated to the following items in the statement of financial position:

Deferred taxes are recognized on tax loss carryforwards and interest carryforwards to the extent that sufficient future taxable income is expected to be generated against which the losses can be utilized.

In 2020, the parent company and the consolidated subsidiaries that reported losses for 2020 or 2019 recognized net deferred tax assets on temporary differences, loss carryforwards, and tax credits totaling €27.6 million (2019: €12.8 million). These assets were considered to be unimpaired because these companies are expected to generate taxable income in future.

No deferred tax assets have been recognized on tax loss carryforwards of €743.9 million (2019: €714.9 million) – of which €146.2 million (2019: €128.9 million) can only be carried forward on a restricted basis – or on interest carryforwards of €283.9 million (2019: €283.9 million).

Consequently, the total amount of unrecognized deferred tax assets relating to loss carryforwards is €160.1 million (2019: €173.0 million), of which €124.7 million (2019: €140.9 million) concerns tax losses that can be carried forward indefinitely.

The KION Group’s corporation-tax loss carryforwards in Germany as at December 31, 2020 amounted to €134.9 million (December 31, 2019: €137.4 million), while trade-tax loss carryforwards stood at €115.6 million (December 31, 2019: €117.1 million). There were also foreign tax loss carryforwards totaling €542.8 million (December 31, 2019: €498.6 million).

The interest that can be carried forward indefinitely in Germany as at December 31, 2020 amounted to €283.9 million (December 31, 2019: €283.9 million).

Deferred tax liabilities were allocated to the following items in the statement of financial position:

The deferred tax liabilities essentially related to purchase price allocations in the acquisition of the KION Group and Dematic, particularly for intangible assets and property, plant, and equipment.

The deferred taxes recognized in the statement of financial position also rose as a consequence of the purchase price allocation in connection with Digital Applications International Limited (deferred tax assets of €2.2 million; deferred tax liabilities of €4.2 million). The currency translation as at the reporting date gave rise to total net deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities of €12.0 million that was recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) under cumulative translation adjustment, resulting in an increase in equity (2019: decrease in equity of €6.1 million).

No deferred taxes have been recognized on temporary differences of €200.6 million (2019: €195.1 million) between the net assets reported in the consolidated financial statements for the Group companies and the tax base for the shares in these Group companies (outside basis differences) because the KION Group is in a position to manage the timing of the reversal of temporary differences and there are no plans to dispose of equity investments in the foreseeable future.

The table below shows the reconciliation of expected income tax expenses to effective income tax expenses. The Group reconciliation is an aggregation of the individual company-specific reconciliations prepared in accordance with relevant local tax rates, taking into account consolidation effects recognized in income.