Analys av tillämpningsområdet för skattesystemets inre sammanhang som rättfärdigandegrund för skatteregler i strid med EUF-fördraget
(2014) JURM02 20141Department of Law
- Abstract
- This thesis focuses on the impact of EU law on national direct taxation. National income tax rules may not restrict the free movement of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). This means that EU law has a considerable impact on national legislation in this area, even if the member states for the most part have retained their competence to legislate. A member state may, therefore, not construct an income tax rule that leads to the negative treatment of a cross-border fiscal situation in comparison to a corresponding domestic situation. Even if a national income tax rule restricts the right to free movement it may in some cases be justified by, for example, the grounds of justification developed in case law of the... (More)
- This thesis focuses on the impact of EU law on national direct taxation. National income tax rules may not restrict the free movement of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). This means that EU law has a considerable impact on national legislation in this area, even if the member states for the most part have retained their competence to legislate. A member state may, therefore, not construct an income tax rule that leads to the negative treatment of a cross-border fiscal situation in comparison to a corresponding domestic situation. Even if a national income tax rule restricts the right to free movement it may in some cases be justified by, for example, the grounds of justification developed in case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) with the support of the rule of reason-doctrine.
A ground for justification may only be accepted by the ECJ if the restriction is appropriate to achieve the objective and proportionate in the means to attain the objective. One of these grounds of justification that have been accepted by the ECJ is the preservation of fiscal cohesion. In this thesis, the scope of application of the preservation of fiscal cohesion is analysed. The ground of justification was first applied in the case Bachmann in 1992. After this initial application, the ECJ rejected application in all following cases up until the acceptance in the case Krankenheim in 2008. The analysis focuses on the ECJ’s case law during the time after the ground of justification once again was accepted.
To fulfill the purpose of the thesis, an analysis has been made of the conditions that the ECJ requires to accept the application of the ground of justification. The ECJ has required that a direct link has to be established between the tax advantage concerned and the offsetting of that advantage by a tax levy. In some previous case law, the ECJ has held that in order for the legislation to be accepted it must relate to one and the same taxpayer and the same tax. Furthermore, the principal of the fiscal cohesion may not be invoked if the fiscal cohesion has been secured on a reciprocal level by a tax treaty. Another topic of analysis is the relationship between the present ground of justification and closely related grounds of justification.
The thesis ends with conclusions on the required conditions for the application of the ground of justification and whether the conditions have changed in later case law. The conclusion here is that the ECJ has upheld the requirement for the condition of a direct link also in later case law, whereas the requirement for the conditions of one and the same taxpayer and the same tax is not mentioned in all later case law. It is, therefore, unclear if the ECJ still views the two lastly mentioned conditions as a strict requirement for the acceptance of the application of the ground of justification. The conclusion is that it should be easier and more likely to achieve an acceptance of a restrictive national legislation if the two conditions are indeed met. Furthermore, I conclude that the existence of a tax treaty still affects the applicability of the ground of justification in later case law. In regards to closely related grounds of justification, I conclude that the balanced allocation of the power to impose taxes shows great similarities to the preservation of fiscal cohesion. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- I uppsatsen behandlas unionsrättens påverkan på EU:s medlemsstaters inkomstskatteregler. De nationella inkomstskattelagstiftningarna får inte strida mot den fria rörligheten stadgad i EUF-fördraget, vilket gör att unionsrätten har stor påverkan på den direkta beskattningen även om den direkta beskattningen till största delen inte är harmoniserad. En medlemsstat får således inte utforma sin nationella inkomstskattelagstiftning på ett sådant vis att lagstiftningen negativt särbehandlar en gränsöverskridande situation jämfört med en motsvarande rent inhemsk situation. Även om inkomstskattelagstiftningen utgör ett hinder för den fria rörligheten finns det dock en möjlighet att lagstiftningen kan accepteras om den kan rättfärdigas med stöd av... (More)
- I uppsatsen behandlas unionsrättens påverkan på EU:s medlemsstaters inkomstskatteregler. De nationella inkomstskattelagstiftningarna får inte strida mot den fria rörligheten stadgad i EUF-fördraget, vilket gör att unionsrätten har stor påverkan på den direkta beskattningen även om den direkta beskattningen till största delen inte är harmoniserad. En medlemsstat får således inte utforma sin nationella inkomstskattelagstiftning på ett sådant vis att lagstiftningen negativt särbehandlar en gränsöverskridande situation jämfört med en motsvarande rent inhemsk situation. Även om inkomstskattelagstiftningen utgör ett hinder för den fria rörligheten finns det dock en möjlighet att lagstiftningen kan accepteras om den kan rättfärdigas med stöd av en av de rättfärdigandegrunder som utvecklats i EU-domstolens praxis genom rule of reason-doktrinen.
Även om den nationella lagstiftningen kan rättfärdigas med hänvisning till en av de rättfärdigandegrunder som utvecklats i EU-domstolens praxis måste lagstiftningen även vara ändamålsenlig och proportionerlig. En av dessa rättfärdigandegrunder som godtagits av EU-domstolen är behovet att säkerställa skattesystemets inre sammanhang. I uppsatsen har tillämpningsområdet för rättfärdigandegrunden skattesystemets inre sammanhang analyserats. Ifrågavarande rättfärdigandegrund introducerades redan år 1992 i målet Bachmann. Därefter ansåg inte EU-domstolen att kraven för att tillämpa rättfärdigandegrunden var uppfyllda i något mål förrän år 2008 i målet Krankenheim. Fokus i uppsatsens analys har varit på EU-domstolens praxis efter att rättfärdigandegrunden återigen accepterades.
För att uppfylla syftet med uppsatsen har de krav för att tillämpa rättfärdigandegrunden som EU-domstolen ställt upp analyserats. Härvid kan nämnas att EU-domstolen ställt krav på ett direkt samband mellan en skattefördel och en kompenserande skattenackdel i en nationell lagstiftning. Vidare har EU-domstolen i en del tidigare rättspraxis ställt krav på att lagstiftningen ska beröra ett skattesubjekt och en och samma beskattning. Dessutom har det framkommit att förekomsten av ett skatteavtal kan förhindra en tillämpning av rättfärdigandegrunden. Ytterligare en frågeställning som analyserats i uppsatsen är förhållandet mellan ifrågavarande rättfärdigandegrund och närliggande rättfärdigandegrunder.
Uppsatsen avslutas med mina slutsatser angående kraven för att tillämpa rättfärdigandegrunden och huruvida kraven ändrats i nyare praxis. Slutsatsen är att EU-domstolen håller fast vid kravet på direkt samband även i nyare praxis. Vad gäller kraven på ett skattesubjekt och en och samma beskattning har EU-domstolen nämnt de två kraven i en del men dock inte alla nyare rättsfall. I det rådande rättsläget verkar det således oklart huruvida EU-domstolen fortfarande lika ovillkorligt upprätthåller de två kraven. Slutsatsen som dras i uppsatsen är att det åtminstone är betydligt enklare att rättfärdiga en nationell lagstiftning som berör ett skattesubjekt och en och samma beskattning. Vidare verkar förekomsten av ett skatteavtal påverka tillämpligheten av rättfärdigandegrunden även i nyare praxis. Vad gäller förhållandet till närliggande rättfärdigandegrunder uppvisar särskilt rättfärdigandegrunden den väl avvägda fördelningen av beskattningsrätten stora likheter med rättfärdigandegrunden skattesystemets inre sammanhang. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/4390472
- author
- Kjellander, Hannah LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- Analysis of the scope of application of the preservation of fiscal cohesion as a ground for justification of tax rules that are in conflict with the TFEU
- course
- JURM02 20141
- year
- 2014
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- skatterätt, EU-rätt, skattesystemets inre sammanhang
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 4390472
- date added to LUP
- 2014-04-08 08:02:26
- date last changed
- 2014-04-08 08:02:26
@misc{4390472,
abstract = {{This thesis focuses on the impact of EU law on national direct taxation. National income tax rules may not restrict the free movement of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). This means that EU law has a considerable impact on national legislation in this area, even if the member states for the most part have retained their competence to legislate. A member state may, therefore, not construct an income tax rule that leads to the negative treatment of a cross-border fiscal situation in comparison to a corresponding domestic situation. Even if a national income tax rule restricts the right to free movement it may in some cases be justified by, for example, the grounds of justification developed in case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) with the support of the rule of reason-doctrine.
A ground for justification may only be accepted by the ECJ if the restriction is appropriate to achieve the objective and proportionate in the means to attain the objective. One of these grounds of justification that have been accepted by the ECJ is the preservation of fiscal cohesion. In this thesis, the scope of application of the preservation of fiscal cohesion is analysed. The ground of justification was first applied in the case Bachmann in 1992. After this initial application, the ECJ rejected application in all following cases up until the acceptance in the case Krankenheim in 2008. The analysis focuses on the ECJ’s case law during the time after the ground of justification once again was accepted.
To fulfill the purpose of the thesis, an analysis has been made of the conditions that the ECJ requires to accept the application of the ground of justification. The ECJ has required that a direct link has to be established between the tax advantage concerned and the offsetting of that advantage by a tax levy. In some previous case law, the ECJ has held that in order for the legislation to be accepted it must relate to one and the same taxpayer and the same tax. Furthermore, the principal of the fiscal cohesion may not be invoked if the fiscal cohesion has been secured on a reciprocal level by a tax treaty. Another topic of analysis is the relationship between the present ground of justification and closely related grounds of justification.
The thesis ends with conclusions on the required conditions for the application of the ground of justification and whether the conditions have changed in later case law. The conclusion here is that the ECJ has upheld the requirement for the condition of a direct link also in later case law, whereas the requirement for the conditions of one and the same taxpayer and the same tax is not mentioned in all later case law. It is, therefore, unclear if the ECJ still views the two lastly mentioned conditions as a strict requirement for the acceptance of the application of the ground of justification. The conclusion is that it should be easier and more likely to achieve an acceptance of a restrictive national legislation if the two conditions are indeed met. Furthermore, I conclude that the existence of a tax treaty still affects the applicability of the ground of justification in later case law. In regards to closely related grounds of justification, I conclude that the balanced allocation of the power to impose taxes shows great similarities to the preservation of fiscal cohesion.}},
author = {{Kjellander, Hannah}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Analys av tillämpningsområdet för skattesystemets inre sammanhang som rättfärdigandegrund för skatteregler i strid med EUF-fördraget}},
year = {{2014}},
}