| tax 2003-03-18 |
| According to a report from the Times yesterday, the UK government may be among the EU member states facing a corporate exodus after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on cross-border tax discrimination in the EU.
In the preliminary hearing of the Conseil d'Etat v de Lasteyrie du Saillant case, the ECJ's Advocate General decided that the French government had violated the freedom of establishment provisions contained within EU law by levying a punitive residential exit tax on an individual who wanted to transfer his tax residence out of France. The Times report suggested that the ruling is likely to reignite fierce debate over the harmonisation of tax law, which has been strongly opposed by several EU member states. More worrying, however, are the potential implications of the ECJ ruling for companies wishing to relocate. |
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