OS ECJ-TF 2/2019 on the ECJ Decisions of 26 February 2019 in N Luxembourg I et al. (Joined Cases C-115/16, C-118/16, C-119/16 and C-299/16) and T Danmark et al. (Joined Cases C-116/16 and C-117/17), Concerning the 'Beneficial Ownership' Requirement and the Anti-Abuse Principle in the Company Tax Directives

European Taxation, vol. 59, n. 10 (2019)

23 Pages Posted: 20 Aug 2020 Last revised: 17 Oct 2020

See all articles by João Félix Pinto Nogueira

João Félix Pinto Nogueira

International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation; Law School - Catholic University of Portugal (UCP); University of Cape Town (UCT)

Francisco Alfredo Garcia Prats

Universitat de València

Werner C. Haslehner

Universite du Luxembourg

Volker Heydt

Independent

Eric Kemmeren

Fiscal Institute Tilburg

Georg Kofler

Vienna University of Economics and Business - Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law

Michael Lang

Vienna University of Economics and Business

Jürgen Lüdicke

PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP - PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH

Pasquale Pistone

International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD); Vienna University of Economics and Business

Emmanuel Raingeard de la Blétière

Independent

Stella Raventos-Calvo

Asociación Española de Asesores Fiscales (AEDAF)

Isabelle Richelle

Independent

Alexander Rust

Independent

Rupert Shiers

Independent

Date Written: June 1, 2019

Abstract

This article deals with the decision taken by the Court of Justice of the European Union in of 26 February 2019 in N Luxembourg I et al. (Joined Cases C-115/16, C-118/16, C-119/16 and C-299/16) and T Danmark et al. (Joined Cases C-116/16 and C-117/17).

The authors acknowledge that the "Danish beneficial ownership cases" address a number of important and timely issues, especially with regard to the concept of abuse under EU law. These include: (i) the expansion of the general anti-abuse principle enshrined in EU law to areas of tax law that are subject to minimal harmonization; (ii) the use of OECD materials to define the beneficial ownership concept; (iii) the conflation of the beneficial ownership concept with the general anti-abuse principle and the Court's attempt to give the notion of "abuse" workable contours; and (iv) the reading of an effective subject-to-tax clause with regard to interest income into the definition of "company" laid down in the EU Interest and Royalties-Directive (2003/49) (IRD).

Domestic courts will likely struggle to translate the abstract guidance of the "Danish beneficial ownership cases" into concrete decisions, that practitioners and academics alike will have to discuss building blocks and nuances of the Grand Chamber's decisions for quite some time, and that consideration needs to be given to the impact of the cases on current tax structures.

Keywords: Taxation, Tax law, European taxation

JEL Classification: K33, K34, F13, E62, D78, E62, F02, F23, F42, H20, H22, H23, H25, H26, H87, O19, O23, O24

Suggested Citation

Pinto Nogueira, João Félix and Garcia Prats, Francisco Alfredo and Haslehner, Werner Christof and Heydt, Volker and Kemmeren, Eric and Kofler, Georg and Lang, Michael and Lüdicke, Jürgen and Pistone, Pasquale and Raingeard de la Blétière, Emmanuel and Raventos-Calvo, Stella and Richelle, Isabelle and Rust, Alexander and Shiers, Rupert, OS ECJ-TF 2/2019 on the ECJ Decisions of 26 February 2019 in N Luxembourg I et al. (Joined Cases C-115/16, C-118/16, C-119/16 and C-299/16) and T Danmark et al. (Joined Cases C-116/16 and C-117/17), Concerning the 'Beneficial Ownership' Requirement and the Anti-Abuse Principle in the Company Tax Directives (June 1, 2019). European Taxation, vol. 59, n. 10 (2019) , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3644255 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3644255

João Félix Pinto Nogueira (Contact Author)

International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation ( email )

Rietlandpark, 301
Amsterdam, 1019 DW
Netherlands
+31205540100 (Phone)

Law School - Catholic University of Portugal (UCP) ( email )

Lisboa
Portugal
0650446433 (Phone)
4760-164 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://https://fd.porto.ucp.pt/pt-pt/pessoa/joao-nogueira

University of Cape Town (UCT) ( email )

Private Bag X3
Rondebosch, Western Cape 7701
South Africa

Werner Christof Haslehner

Universite du Luxembourg ( email )

Luxembourg

Volker Heydt

Independent

Eric Kemmeren

Fiscal Institute Tilburg ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands
+31.13.466.8129/2412 (Phone)
+31.13.466.3073 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.tilburguniversity.edu/webwijs/show/kemmeren-3.htm

Georg Kofler

Vienna University of Economics and Business - Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law ( email )

Welthandelsplatz 1
Building D3
Vienna, VIenna 1020
Austria

Michael Lang

Vienna University of Economics and Business ( email )

Welthandelsplatz 1
Vienna, 1020
Austria

Jürgen Lüdicke

PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP - PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH ( email )

Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaf
Alsterufer 1
Hamburg, D-20354
Germany

Pasquale Pistone

International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) ( email )

Rietlandpark 301
Amsterdam, 1019 DW
Netherlands

Vienna University of Economics and Business ( email )

Welthandelsplatz 1
Vienna, Wien 1020
Austria

Stella Raventos-Calvo

Asociación Española de Asesores Fiscales (AEDAF) ( email )

Spain

Isabelle Richelle

Independent

Alexander Rust

Independent

Rupert Shiers

Independent

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