Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2000:309
Date: 2000-06-08
Language of the case: Dutch
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Right of establishment
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Belgium

Summary of the Judgment 
Freedom of movement for persons — Freedom of establishment — Tax legislation — 
Corporation tax — National legislation limiting the possibility of deducting losses 
incurred in the Member State concerned for companies which have a permanent 
establishment in another Member State — Not permissible 
(EC Treaty, Art. 52 (now, after amendment, Art. 43 EC)) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-141/99 
Article 52 of the Treaty (now, after amend­
ment, Article 43 EC) precludes legislation 
of a Member State under which a company 
incorporated under national law, having its 
seat in that Member State, may, for the 
purposes of corporation tax, deduct a loss 
incurred the previous year from the taxable 
profit for the current year only on the 
condition that that loss was not capable of 
being set off against the profit made during 
that same previous year by one of its 
permanent establishments situated in 
another Member State, to the extent that 
a loss thus set off cannot be deducted from 
taxable income in either of the Member 
States concerned, whereas it would be 
deductible if the establishments of that 
company were situated exclusively in the 
Member State in which it has its seat. Such 
legislation establishes a differentiated tax 
treatment as between companies incorp­
orated under national law having establish­
ments only on national territory and those 
having establishments in another Member 
State. 
(see paras 23, 33 and operative part) 
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