Close Menu
    Latest Category
    • Finance
    • Tech
    • EU Law
    • Energy
    • fx
    • About
    • Contact
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Login
    • EU News
    • Focus
    • Guides
    • Press
    • Jobs
    • Events
    • Directory
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Home»SMEs in the EU

    Commission requests exit tax changes

    npsBy nps18 March 2010Updated:9 July 2024 SMEs in the EU No Comments3 Mins Read
    — Filed under: EU Law Taxation
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    The European Commission has formally requested Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands to change tax rules which impose an immediate exit tax when companies transfer their seat or assets to another EU Member State.

    The Commission considers these provisions to be incompatible with the freedom of establishment provided for in Article 49 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). A similar case against Sweden has been closed, since Sweden had complied with the Commission’s request.

    The Belgian tax law provides for immediate taxation of capital gains in case the fiscal residence of a company is changed to outside Belgium. Similarly, the Danish tax lax provides for immediate taxation of capital gains on assets transferred outside Denmark. Non-incorporated businesses and companies in the Netherlands must pay an exit tax. The Commission considers that such exit tax rules are likely to dissuade businesses and companies from exercising their right of freedom of establishment and constitute restrictions of Article 49 TFEU.

    The Commission’s opinion is based on the Treaty as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union in De Lasteyrie du Saillant, Case C-9/02 of 11 March 2004, and in N, Case-470/04 of 7 September 2006, and on the Commission’s Communication on exit taxation (COM(2006)825 of 19 December 2006). Immediate taxation of accrued but unrealised capital gains at the moment of exit is not allowed if there would be no similar taxation in comparable domestic situations. It follows from the case-law that the Member States have to defer the collection of their taxes until the moment of actual realisation of the capital gains.

    The Commission had already referred Spain and Portugal to the Court of Justice for similar exit tax rules and sent a reasoned opinion to Sweden.

    Background

    The incriminated provisions are the following:

    • In Belgium, article 208, 209 and 210, paragraph 1, point 4 of the Income tax code (CIR92);
    • In Denmark, Section 7A of the Danish Corporate Tax Act;
    • In the Netherlands, articles 3.60 and 3.61 of the Income tax law 2001 and articles 15c and 15d of the Corporate tax law 1969.

    The request takes the form of a reasoned opinion (the second step of the infringement procedure provided for in Article 258 of the Treaty). If there is no satisfactory reaction to the reasoned opinions within two months, the Commission may decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

    The Commission’s case reference numbers are 2008/4250 (BE), 2008/2157 (DK) and 2008/2207 (NL).

    Add A Comment

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

    nps
    • Website

    Related Content

    EU proposes e-declaration for the posting of workers

    EU calls on Apple to end geo-blocking on media services

    Council agrees reform of EU VAT rules for the digital age

    One step closer towards a Single VAT Registration in the EU

    Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in the European Union – guide for businesses

    Call for concrete actions to improve SMEs competitivene

    LATEST EU NEWS

    EU approves EUR 300m for common defence procurement projects

    14 November 2024

    EU proposes e-declaration for the posting of workers

    14 November 2024

    EU calls on Apple to end geo-blocking on media services

    14 November 2024

    EUR/USD touches one year low as Trump takes control of Congress – Euro currency news daily

    14 November 2024

    EU artificial intelligence factories set for 2025

    13 November 2024
    BRIEFING

    Agenda

    This week, COP29 begins in Azerbaijan; finance ministers discuss the EU's annual budget for 2025; and MEPs hold a plenary session on EU-US relations, EU summits, deforestation and COP 29...

    EUbusiness Week

    This week competitiveness and environment ministers will hold informal meetings…

    Eurozone Economic Calendar

    Key economic calendar events for the week 11 to 16 November 2024

    The Week's Top Stories

    This week competitiveness and environment ministers will hold informal meetings…

    Advertisement

    Subscribe to EUbusiness Week

    Get the latest EU news

    Latest Posts

    EU approves EUR 300m for common defence procurement projects

    14 November 2024

    EU proposes e-declaration for the posting of workers

    14 November 2024

    EU calls on Apple to end geo-blocking on media services

    14 November 2024

    EUR/USD touches one year low as Trump takes control of Congress – Euro currency news daily

    14 November 2024

    CONTACT INFO

    • EUbusiness Ltd 117 High Street, Chesham Buckinghamshire, HP5 1DE United Kingdom
    • +44(0)20 8058 8232
    • service@eubusiness.com

    INFORMATION

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Info

    Services

    • Privacy Policy
    • Tems
    • EU News

    SOCIAL MEDIA

    Facebook
    eubusiness.com © EUbusiness Ltd 2025
    Design and developed by : Dotsquares

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Sign In or Register

    Welcome Back!

    Login below or Register Now.

    Lost password?

    Register Now!

    Already registered? Login.

    A password will be e-mailed to you.

    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok