Berlin - Germany and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ended a long struggle over the corporate tax arrangements between the two nations with the finance ministry in Berlin announcing Tuesday that they had reached an agreement on a new double taxation treaty.

The agreement has implications not only for German companies operating in the oil-rich Gulf state, but in particular it concerns the tax treatment of UAE investors in Germany, notably the role of state-backed sovereign wealth funds in companies in Europe's biggest economy.

Indeed, a major issue in hammering out the new tax accord revolved around the taxation of dividends.

This included the tax status in Germany of the UAE's giant sovereign wealth fund, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

With assets totalling about 500 billion euros (698 billion dollars), the ADIA is the world's biggest state fund and has stakes in key German companies including leading carmaker Daimler AG and the country's biggest bank, Deutsche Bank AG.

But under the agreement announced Tuesday, the ADIA will not enjoy any special tax privileges in Germany. (dpa)