CELEX: C2006/131/06
Language: en
Date: 2006-06-03 00:00:00
Title: Case C-253/03: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of  23 February 2006  (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesfinanzhof) — CLT-UFA SA v Finanzamt Köln-West (Freedom of establishment — Tax legislation — Tax on company profits)

3.6.2006   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 131/4
            
         Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 23 February 2006 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesfinanzhof) — CLT-UFA SA v Finanzamt Köln-West
   (Case C-253/03) (1)
   
   (Freedom of establishment - Tax legislation - Tax on company profits)
   (2006/C 131/06)
   Language of the case: German
   Referring court
   Bundesfinanzhof (Germany)
   Parties to the main proceedings
   
      Applicant: CLT-UFA SA
   
      Defendant: Finanzamt Köln-West
   Re:
   Reference for a preliminary ruling — Bundesfinanzhof — Interpretation of Article 52 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 43 EC) and Article 58 of the EC Treaty (now Article 48 EC) — National legislation on tax on company profits — Taxation of places of business — Rate of taxation of profits made by branches of foreign capital companies higher than the rate of taxation of profits made by subsidiaries and distributed to foreign parent companies
   Operative part of the judgment
   
               1.
            
            
               Article 52 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 43 EC) and Article 58 of the EC Treaty (now Article 48 EC) preclude a national law such as the one in dispute in the main proceedings which, in the case of a branch of a company having its seat in another Member State, lays down a tax rate on the profits of that branch which is higher than that on the profits of a subsidiary of such a company where that subsidiary distributes its profits in full to its parent company.
            
         
               2.
            
            
               It is for the national court to determine the tax rate which must be applied to the profits made by a branch, such as the one in dispute in the main proceedings, by reference to the overall tax rate which would have been applicable if the profits of a subsidiary had been distributed to its parent company.
            
         
      (1)  OJ C 200, 23.08.2003.