Are distributing ETFs always better than accumulating ones?

In the country I live in (Germany), the tax law is set up in such a way that in both distributing and accumulating ETFs you pay exactly the same capital gains tax on the gains made via the dividends.

I am not sure you are right here.

In both cases, the Vorabpauschale is calculated as the gain which you could have made in a "safe way". As the interest rate for calculating the VAP becomes lower and lower, it tends to be irrelevant.

If there still was a positive VAP with a base interest rate (Basiszinssatz) of, say, 1%, we could look at it via the following example:

• you invest 1000 € into a DIS and an ACC ETF each.
• At the end of the year, the DIS has paid 4 € of dividends and, nontheless, has increased in value to, say, 1007 €.
• The ACC ETF has now a value of 1011 €, so it has increased by 11 €.
• As the base interest rate is 1 %, as we assumed, your "Vorabpauschale" is 10 €, which is taxed then as capital gain.
• The DIS one has gained only 0.7%, so the VAP isn't 10 €, but only 7 €. But the distributions you have received are reduced from this, so the final VAP is only 3 €.

Now, with a base rate of 0.5%, the VAP for the ACC would be 5 € and for the DIS would be 1 €, plus taxes on the 4 €.

With a base rate of 0%, the VAP for the ACC would be 0 € and fot the DIS 0 € as well, plus taxes on the 4 €. So in this case, the DIS is taxed higher then the ACC.

For the VAP calculation, it is irrelevant whether the NAV of the ETF gets higher because of reinvested dividends or whether it only consists only of shares which don't pay any dividends.

So the initial claim "ACC and DIS are taxed the same way" is only partially valid.

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So let's take your scenarios with the 50000 € and a payout of 2000 € after 10 years:

Assume (compounding aside) you have a plus of 10 % per year and a base rate of 2 % (much higher than today).

ACC case:

• For taxes, you are assumed to have gained 2 % per year, so you are assumed to have a gain of 1000 € in the first year, 1100 € in the second year, etc., and 2000 € in the last year, totalling about 15000 €.
• If you now sell some ETF shares for 2000 €, it is 2% from what you purchased originally, so 2% of the totally assumed gains are assigned to these sold shares. That's 300 €. But you made a gain of 1000 €, so you are taxed for 700 € at the time of sale. Totally, you are taxed 1000 € for this gain, as you should: your original investment has doubled, so your 2000 € originate from an investment of 1000 €.
• The remaining gains continue to be taxed via the Vorabpauschale method and are "finally taxed" when they are realized, ideally after retirement where you might have a personal tax rate of < 20 % and can elect to be taxed with this rate.

DIST case:

• In each year, you have gained 1000 € (of dividends). They are taxed as they occur, even if you reinvest them.
• We further assume that the ETF gains in value despite paying dividends. But it is quite likely that the nominal gains from this ETF via the VAP method don't apply, as the VAP is reduced by the dividends paid (and taxed).
• If you keep 2000 € of these dividends, these 2000 € are fully taxed.

So to conclude: the ACC case is much better for now, as only a part of the nominal gains are really taxed each year using the VAP method. For the 2000 €, it doesn't matter in the end, as you pay your 20 % taxes of the 1000 € made as gains. But for the remaining money, it is more tax efficient to keep it as an ACC ETF.

(Correction: For the 2000 €, it makes a difference as well: if you take it out of the ACC ETF, only 1000 € are gains, the other 1000 € were already here. For the DIS ETF, you have 2000 € as gains, all being taxable.)

You'll have to pay taxes on all gains eventually, but as said, they might occur at a time where your personal tax rate is below the 20% rate and you might get taxed lower ("Günstigerprüfung", i. e. check whether it is more advantageous to pax a lower tax).