CELEX: E2004P0001
Language: en
Date: 2004-04-27 00:00:00
Title: Request for an Advisory Opinion from the EFTA Court by Frostating lagmannsrett by decision of that court of 23 April 2004 in the case of Fokus Bank ASA v Staten v/Skattedirektoratet (Case E-1/04)

17.2.2005   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 40/14
            
         Request for an Advisory Opinion from the EFTA Court by Frostating lagmannsrett by decision of that court of 23 April 2004 in the case of Fokus Bank ASA v Staten v/Skattedirektoratet
   (Case E-1/04)
   (2005/C 40/07)
   A request has been made to the EFTA Court by decision of 23 April 2004 of Frostating lagmannsrett (Frostating Court of Appeal), Trondheim, Norway, which was received at the Court Registry on 27 April 2004, for an Advisory Opinion in the case of Fokus Bank ASA v Staten v/Skattedirektoratet, on the following questions:
   
               1.
            
            
               Is it consistent with Article 40 of the EEA Agreement that imputation tax credit for withholding tax is not granted to taxpayers resident in other member states?
               
                           (a)
                        
                        
                           Is it of legal significance whether the taxpayer is resident in a member state which, in a tax agreement with Norway, has undertaken to grant credit for withholding tax?
                        
                     
                           (b)
                        
                        
                           Is it of legal significance whether the taxpayer in the specific case actually is granted, or will be granted, credit for the withholding tax?
                        
                     
         
               2.
            
            
               Is it consistent with the EEA Agreement that a member state deals solely with the distributing company when assessing and reassessing dividend tax (withholding tax) in those cases where the assessment decision for the foreign taxpayers is based on the assumption that the owner for tax purposes is someone other than the person who (1) is the owner under private law; (2) is registered in the VPS register as owner; and (3) is stated as owner in relation to the tax authorities, without either the owner for tax purposes or the VPS-registered owner under private law having been made aware of the reclassification?