CELEX: 62015CA0018
Language: en
Date: 2016-07-13 00:00:00
Title: Case C-18/15: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 13 July 2016 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Supremo Tribunal Administrativo — Portugal) — Brisal — Auto Estradas do Litoral SA, KBC Finance Ireland v Fazenda Pública (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Article 56 TFEU — Freedom to provide services — Restrictions — Tax legislation — Taxation of interest received — Difference in treatment between resident financial institutions and non-resident financial institutions)

12.9.2016   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 335/10
            
         Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 13 July 2016 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Supremo Tribunal Administrativo — Portugal) — Brisal — Auto Estradas do Litoral SA, KBC Finance Ireland v Fazenda Pública
   (Case C-18/15) (1)
   
   ((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Article 56 TFEU - Freedom to provide services - Restrictions - Tax legislation - Taxation of interest received - Difference in treatment between resident financial institutions and non-resident financial institutions))
   (2016/C 335/12)
   Language of the case: Portuguese
   
      Referring court
   
   Supremo Tribunal Administrativo
   
      Parties to the main proceedings
   
   
      Applicants: Brisal — Auto Estradas do Litoral SA, KBC Finance Ireland
   
      Defendant: Fazenda Pública
   
      Operative part of the judgment
   
   Article 49 EC does not preclude national legislation under which a procedure for withholding tax at source is applied to the income of financial institutions that are not resident in the Member State in which the services are provided, whereas the income received by financial institutions that are resident in that Member State is not subject to such withholding tax, provided that the application of the withholding tax to the non-resident financial institutions is justified by an overriding reason in the general interest and does not go beyond what is necessary to attain the objective pursued.
   Article 49 EC precludes national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which, as a general rule, taxes non-resident financial institutions on the interest income received within the Member State concerned without giving them the opportunity to deduct business expenses directly related to the activity in question, whereas such an opportunity is given to resident financial institutions.
   It is for the national court to assess, on the basis of its national law, which business expenses may be regarded as being directly related to the activity in question.
   
      (1)  OJ C 118, 13.4.2015.