CELEX: 62008CA0352
Language: en
Date: 2010-05-20 00:00:00
Title: Case C-352/08: Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 20 May 2010 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden — Netherlands) — Modehuis A. Zwijnenburg BV v Staatssecretaris van Financiën (Approximation of laws — Directive 90/434/EEC — Common system of taxation applicable to mergers, divisions, transfers of assets and exchanges of shares concerning companies of different Member States — Article 11(1)(a) — Whether applicable to transaction tax)

3.7.2010   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 179/5
            
         Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 20 May 2010 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden — Netherlands) — Modehuis A. Zwijnenburg BV v Staatssecretaris van Financiën
   (Case C-352/08) (1)
   
   (Approximation of laws - Directive 90/434/EEC - Common system of taxation applicable to mergers, divisions, transfers of assets and exchanges of shares concerning companies of different Member States - Article 11(1)(a) - Whether applicable to transaction tax)
   2010/C 179/06
   Language of the case: Dutch
   
      Referring court
   
   Hoge Raad der Nederlanden
   
      Parties to the main proceedings
   
   
      Applicant: Modehuis A. Zwijnenburg BV
   
      Defendant: Staatssecretaris van Financiën
   
      Re:
   
   Reference for a preliminary ruling — Hoge Raad der Nederlanden Den Haag — Interpretation of Article 11(1)(a) of Council Directive 90/434/EEC of 23 July 1990 on the common system of taxation applicable to mergers, divisions, transfers of assets and exchanges of shares concerning companies of different Member States (OJ 1990 L 225, p.1) — Concept of tax evasion or tax avoidance — Transaction aimed at escaping a national tax not referred to in the Directive’s list of taxes which may not be levied
   
      Operative part of the judgment
   
   Article 11(1)(a) of Council Directive 90/434/EEC of 23 July 1990 on the common system of taxation applicable to mergers, divisions, transfers of assets and exchanges of shares concerning companies of different Member States is to be interpreted as meaning that the favourable arrangements which that directive introduces may not be withheld from a taxpayer who has sought, by way of a legal stratagem involving a company merger, to avoid the levying of a tax such as that at issue in the main proceedings, namely transaction tax, where that tax does not come within the scope of application of that directive.
   
      (1)  OJ C 285, 08.11.2008.