Daniel Gutmann’s scientific contributions

This article deals with the decision taken by the Court of Justice of the European Union in September 2014 regarding the compatibility of inheritance taxation with the fundamental freedoms (Commission v. Spain (Case C-127/12) and Commission v. Germany (Case C-211/13)). The authors welcome the outcome of the ECJ’s decisions in these two cases on inheritance and gift taxes in light of the free movement of capital and expects the member states to adjust their domestic laws accordingly. The authors also welcome the initiatives of the Commission in the inheritance and gift taxes field and, since only few bilateral agreements in this area exist, it urges the Commission to propose Union measures and member states to at least adopt unilateral measures to eliminate double taxation in the field of inheritances and gifts.

This article deals with the decision taken by the Court of Justice of the European Union in Sopora (Case C-512/13), which was decided by the Grand Chamber of the ECJ on 24 February 2015. It concerns the question of whether a specific requirement to obtain a tax advantage for foreign (incoming) workers violates the freedom of movement of workers (Art. 45 TFEU). This case prominently raises the issue of a differentiation not between nationals and non-nationals (i.e., “vertical discrimination”), but rather between different non-nationals (i.e., “horizontal discrimination”) in the context of the taxation of payments of deemed employment expenses (“extraterritorial costs”). By clearly accepting such “horizontal comparison” in the context of Art. 45 TFEU, it resolves a question where the Court “up to now” has “given varying signals”.4 It also suggests that the Court's answer to that question might have wider application.

This article deals with the decision taken by the Court of Justice of the European Union in European Commission v. United Kingdom (“Final Losses”) (Case C-172/13), published on on the 3 February 2015. This case is in some ways a follow-up to the ECJ’s decision in Marks & Spencer (Case C-446/03) and comments on whether the legislative amendments introduced by the United Kingdom are sufficient to ensure compliance with EU law. After illustrating the case, arguments of the parties and decision of the Court, this Opinion Statement focuses on selected critical points from the Court’s decision and Advocate General Kokott’s Opinion

This article deals with the decision taken by the Court of Justice of the European Union in Miljoen and others (Joined Cases C-10/14, C-14/14 and C-17/14), in respect of which the Third Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) delivered its decision on 17 September 2015, following the Opinion of Advocate General Jääskinen of 25 June 2015. The cases concern the taxation of dividends received by individual and corporate non-resident taxpayers. They answer several questions in respect of the appropriateness of levying dividend withholding taxes, such as the need to allow for an offset against ordinary income tax, the deductibility of related costs and the relevance of an offset granted by a tax treaty. After illustrating the factual background, parties’ arguments and the ECJ’s decision, this Opinion Statement will focus on issues that the ECJ has left open.

This article deals with the decision taken by the Court of Justice of the European Union in Groupe Steria SCA (Case C-386/14), in respect of which the Second Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) delivered its decision on 2 September 2015, following the Opinion of Advocate General Kokott of 11 June 2015. The decision, which has also been the subject of an ECJ Press Release, further interprets the freedom of establishment in the context of the French intégration fiscale and clarifies that taxpayers can claim some benefits of a group taxation regime even if EU law would not allow for the full benefit of such a regime. It also confirms that an option granted to Member States under secondary EU legislation cannot justify a breach of the fundamental freedoms.