WRITTEN QUESTION E-1566/01 by Pervenche Berès (PSE) to the Commission. Tax discrimination based on place of establishment.
Date: 2001-05-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: application of EU law, association, capital transfer tax, right of establishment, tax exemption

11.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 350 E/193

(2001/C 350 E/208)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1566/01

by Pervenche BerŁs (PSE) to the Commission

(29 May 2001)

Subject: Tax discrimination based on place of establishment

If a Member State(cid:146)s laws exempt bodies with scientific, humanitarian or technical objectives from
is refusal by the Member State(cid:146)s administration to grant such an exemption to an
succession duties,
organisation of this type which pursues similar objectives in that Member State but is established in
another Member State, compatible with the Treaty establishing the European Community?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(5 July 2001)

The situation described by the Honourable Member can be an infringement of the EC Treaty in that such
a refusal can lead to a situation which is detrimental to some organisations with comparable activities,
depending on their place of establishment.

Such a situation should be examined on the basis of more detailed information so that the Commission
can assess whether it infringes the EC Treaty.

(2001/C 350 E/209)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1571/01

by Luciano Caveri (ELDR) to the Commission

(1 June 2001)

Subject: European legal framework for casinos

In the European Union, gambling houses (casinos) are mostly regulated by the domestic law of Member
States, chiefly for reasons of law and order. There are various kinds of gambling houses offering different
types of games, with the traditional split between (cid:145)French(cid:146) and (cid:145)American(cid:146) games,
in addition to slot
machines, which clearly fall into a category of their own.

Will the Commission say what could be considered to be the current European legal framework for the
various kinds of gambling houses, whether any new regulations are envisaged and if so, in which areas?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(13 July 2001)

In response to the Honourable Member(cid:146)s question on casinos, it is true that these are regulated by national
laws and that there is no Community secondary legislation in this field at the current time.

Gambling services are, nevertheless, covered by the EC Treaty. The Court of Justice in its rulings on
restrictions to such services has confirmed that they are covered by Article 49 (ex Article 59) of the
EC Treaty relating to the cross-border movement of services. In a recent case (1), it ruled on whether
a national
legislation granting a single public body exclusive rights to operate slot machines was
compatible with this provision of the EC Treaty. The Court recognised that such a measure restricted the
cross-border provision of gambling services. It recognised that the public interest objectives on which the
measure was based were the protection of consumers and maintenance of order in society. It added that
the restriction was also based on ensuring that profits from such services could be used for public interest
objectives. In this instance it ruled that the resulting cross-border restriction was proportionate in that the
measure achieved its intended aims and did not go beyond that which was necessary to achieve them.