Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2002:389
Date: 2002-06-20
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Free movement of workers
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Netherlands

Summary of the Judgment 
Freedom of movement for persons — Workers — Equal treatment — Remuneration — 
Income tax — National rules on the avoidance of double taxation excluding taxpayers 
from entitlement to a tax concession because they have received income in another 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-385/00 
Member State which was taxed in that State without taking into account their personal 
and family circumstances — Not permissible — Conditions governing the taking into 
account of such circumstances — Requirements of Community law — None — Limits 
(EC Treaty, Art. 48 (now, after amendment, Art. 39 EC)) 
Article 48 of the Treaty (now, after amend­
ment, Article 39 EC) precludes national 
rules — irrespective of whether or not they 
are laid down in a convention for the 
avoidance of double taxation — whereby 
a taxpayer forfeits, in the calculation of the 
income tax payable by him in his State of 
residence, part of the tax-free amount of 
that income and of his personal tax advan­
tages because, during the year in question, 
he also received income in another Member 
State which was taxed in that State without 
his personal and family circumstances 
being taken into account. 
Moreover, Community law contains no 
specific requirement with regard to the 
way in which the State of residence must 
take into account the personal and family 
circumstances of a worker who, during a 
particular tax year, received income in that 
State and in another Member State, except 
that the conditions governing the way in 
which the State of residence takes those 
circumstances into account must not con­
stitute discrimination, either direct or indi­
rect, on grounds of nationality, or an 
obstacle to the exercise of a fundamental 
freedom guaranteed by the Treaty. 
(see paras 110, 115, operative part 1-2) 
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