Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2015:338
Date: 2015-05-21
Language of the case: French
Court formation: First Chamber
Subject matter: Privileges and immunities
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: France

Summary — Judgment of the Court (First Chamber), 21 May 2015 1. Privileges and Immunities of the European Union — Officials and servants of the Union — Exemption from national taxes on salaries paid by the Union — Scope (Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union; Art. 12, second para.) 2. Privileges and Immunities of the European Union — Officials and servants of the Union — Exemption from national taxes on salaries paid by the Union — Tax on the rental value of residential premises purchased and occupied by an official — Whether permissible (Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union; Art. 12, second para.) 3. Privileges and Immunities of the European Union — Officials and servants of the Union — Exemption from national taxes on salaries paid by the Union — National legislation taking into account income paid by the Union in order to determine the upper limit on liability with respect to a residence tax with a view to the possible granting of relief — Whether permissible (Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union; Art. 12, second para.) 1. See the text of the judgment. (see paras 14-19) 2. See the text of the judgment. (see para. 22) 3. The second paragraph of Article 12 of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, annexed to the EU, FEU and EAEC Treaties, must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation which takes into consideration salaries, wages and emoluments paid by the Union to its officials and other servants in order to determine the upper limit on liability with respect to a residence tax levied for the benefit of local communities, with a view to the possible granting of relief from it. The national legislation contains no provision which prevents officials and other servants of the Union from qualifying for partial relief from residence tax on the same conditions as are applicable to any other taxpayer who may qualify for that advantage, namely that the reference taxable income should not exceed the statutorily defined threshold. Further, the residence tax depends essentially on the rental value of the residential premises and does not relate to either the taxpayer’s ability to pay or the full extent of the taxpayer’s assets. In that regard, the system for the granting of partial relief from residence tax represents a social policy measure which enables low-income tax households to cope with local taxes. If it were accepted that salaries, wages and emoluments paid by the Union could be excluded on the basis of the provisions of Article 12 of the Protocol, that would have the effect of altering the essential nature of the social policy measure introduced. (see paras 26, 28, 29, 31, operative part)