Taxation and the Third Country Dimension of Free Movement of Capital in EU Law: The ECJ's Rulings and Unresolved Issues
British Tax Review, Vol. 6, pp. 628-666, 2008
40 Pages Posted: 26 Mar 2009
Date Written: March 9, 2009
Abstract
The free movement of capital guaranteed by Article 56(1) of the EC Treaty applies not only within the European Union (EU), but also to movements of capital between EU Member States and non-EU (or third) countries. Over the last 15 years the Court of Justice of the European Communities (ECJ) has ruled repeatedly in intra-EU cases that Member States' direct tax laws must not impede exercise of the fundamental freedoms, including free movement of capital. The ECJ has now begun to define how Article 56(1) applies to direct tax restrictions on capital movements between the EU and third countries, providing some important indications, but also raising many questions, as to the differences and similarities in the way the ECJ will approach third country cases as compared to intra-EU cases. This article provides an analytical overview of the EC Treaty provisions on free movement of capital, the range of intra-EU cases that have held Member State tax laws incompatible with free movement of capital, and discusses the implications of recent third country decisions and the provisions of the Treaty of Lisbon on the future evolution of the third country dimension.
Keywords: Taxation, European Union, capital
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