Due to the new Inheritance and Gift Tax Act which was announced in the Federal Law Gazette on November 9, 2016, the capitalization rate of the Simplified Income Approach (§§ 199 et seqq. Valuation Act) was retroactively reduced from 17,8571 to 13,75 as of January 1, 2016.
If this retroactivity results in any disadvantages for the tax payer (e.g. by reason of reduced tax relief), the tax office which is compentent for the Inheritance and Gift Tax has to determine the tax based on a capitalization rate of 17,8571.
For more details in regard to the Simplied Income Approach and other valuation methods for Inheritance and Gift Tax purposes see Koeniger, The German Inheritance and Gift Tax, 2017, p. 100 et seqq.