natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Ved brev af 6. juli 2004 (D/54933) anmodede Kommissionen de franske myndigheder om yderligere oplysninger, som den modtog den 2. august 2004 (A/36007).
By letter dated 6 July 2004 (D/54933), the Commission asked the French authorities to produce further information, which it received on 2 August 2004 (A/36007).
Ved brev af 14. december 2004 (D/205909) informerede Kommissionen de franske myndigheder om sin beslutning om at indlede den formelle undersøgelsesprocedure efter traktatens artikel 88, stk. 2.
By letter dated 14 December 2004 (D/205909), the Commission notified the French authorities of its decision to initiate the formal investigation procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty.
Denne beslutning er offentliggjort i Den Europæiske Unions Tidende.
The decision was published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
I beslutningen anmodede Kommissionen Frankrig og de interesserede parter om at fremsætte deres bemærkninger inden for en bestemt frist.
In it, the Commission invited France and interested parties to submit their comments within a certain time limit.
Ved brev af 6. januar 2005 (A/30266) og senere af 4. februar 2005 anmodede de franske myndigheder om en forlængelse af denne frist, og denne anmodning efterkom Kommissionen ved brev af hhv. 11. januar 2005 (D/50220) og 16. februar 2005 (D/51190).
By letters dated 6 January 2005 (A/30266) and 4 February 2005, the French authorities requested an extension of the time limit, which was granted by letters dated 11 January 2005 (D/50220) and 16 February 2005 (D/51190).
Kommissionen modtog bemærkningerne fra de franske myndigheder den 15. marts 2005 (A/32251).
The Commission received the French authorities’ comments on 15 March 2005 (A/32251).
Den modtog ligeledes inden for den fastlagte frist bemærkninger fra seksten interesserede parter, som den videresendte til de franske myndigheder den 9. juni 2005 (D/54454).
It also received, within the deadline, comments from 16 interested parties, which were forwarded to the French authorities on 9 June 2005 (D/54454).
Ved brev af 7. juli 2005 (A/35587) anmodede de franske myndigheder om en forlængelse af den fastsatte frist til at kommentere de interesserede parters bemærkninger.
By letter dated 7 July 2005 (A/35587), the French authorities asked the Commission to extend the time limit granted to it for commenting on the interested parties’ comments.
Kommissionen efterkom denne anmodning, og de franske myndigheder fremsendte endelig deres bemærkninger ved brev af 20. juli 2005 (A/35981).
The Commission granted the request and the French authorities finally submitted their comments by letter dated 20 July 2005 (A/35981).
Ved elektronisk post af 2. marts 2006 (A/31655) fremsendte de franske myndigheder supplerende bemærkninger vedrørende den foreliggende ordning til Kommissionen.
By e-mail dated 2 March 2006 (A/31655), the French authorities sent the Commission further comments on the scheme at issue.
Der skal erindres om, at afskrivninger af aktiver, der udlejes eller stilles til rådighed, ifølge den franske skattelovs artikel 39 CA, første afsnit, skal være fordelt over hele den almindelige brugsperiode.
Pursuant to the first paragraph of Article 39 C of the General Tax Code, the depreciation of assets leased out or otherwise made available is spread over the normal period of use.
Artikel 77 i lov nr. 98-546 indfører to bestemmelser i skatteloven, der tilsigter at bekæmpe skatteunddragelser i forbindelse med interessentskabers og økonomiske firmagruppers finansieringstransaktioner.
Article 77 of Law No 98-546 introduces two provisions into the General Tax Code aimed at combating tax avoidance by partnerships and economic interest groupings (EIGs) when they carry out movable asset financing operations.
I henhold til artikel 39 C, afsnit 2, i skatteloven må fradragsberettigede afskrivninger på et aktiv, der udlejes af en firmagruppe, således ikke overstige den leje, firmagruppen oppebærer, med fradrag af andre udgifter i tilknytning til det berørte aktiv.
The second paragraph of Article 39 C of the General Tax Code provides that the tax-deductible depreciation of an asset leased out by an EIG may not exceed the amount of any leasing charges collected by it, less any other charges relating to the asset.
De degressive afskrivninger og de finansielle udgifter er pr. definition koncentreret på aktivets første brugsår, og firmagruppen vil derfor have et stort underskud i disse år og først få overskud i en anden periode, når lejeindtægten overstiger de samlede afholdte udgifter (inkl. afskrivninger og finansielle udgifter).
Since the declining depreciation and the financial charges are, by definition, concentrated on the first few years of the asset’s use, the EIG’s results show an exceptional loss during that period and become positive only during a later period when the amount of the leasing charges collected exceeds total costs (depreciation and financial charges included).
Firmagruppen er omfattet af interessentskabsordningen, og dens underskud i de første aktivitetsår kan derfor fratrækkes det skattepligtige overskud fra medlemmernes løbende aktiviteter.
Because EIGs are governed by the law on partnerships, they can deduct the losses thus posted during the first few years of the operation from the taxable profits earned by their members from their current activities.
Formålet med det i skattelovens artikel 39 C, andet afsnit, fastlagte afskrivningsloft er således at bekæmpe misbrug af denne finansieringsform med skatteoptimering for øje.
The ceiling on depreciation provided for in the second paragraph of Article 39 C of the General Tax Code is intended, therefore, to combat abusive recourse to this type of financing for the purpose of tax avoidance.
Skatteloven indeholder dog en undtagelse fra denne begrænsning i form af en afskrivningsordning for bestemte virksomheder.
An exception to this limitation, introducing a depreciation system favourable to certain undertakings, has nevertheless been inserted in the General Tax Code.
Det bestemmes således i skattelovens artikel 39 CA, at loftet i skattelovens artikel 39 C, andet afsnit, ikke finder anvendelse på økonomiske firmagruppers finansiering af afskrivningsberettigede aktiver efter et system med degressiv afskrivning over en periode på mindst otte år, hvis dette er forhåndsgodkendt af finansministeriet.
Article 39 CA of the General Tax Code thus stipulates that the ceiling laid down in the second paragraph of Article 39 C of the Code shall not be applicable to the financing by EIGs of depreciable movable assets according to the declining balance method over a period of at least eight years provided that the operation has been approved in advance by the Minister for the Budget.
Denne godkendelse forudsætter, at bl.a. følgende betingelser er opfyldt:
Such approval is subject to a number of criteria. These are essentially as follows:
aktivets købspris skal svare til markedsprisen
the acquisition price of the asset must correspond to the market price
investeringen skal være af betydelig økonomisk og social interesse, navnlig for beskæftigelsen
the investment must be of significant economic and social interest, particularly in relation to employment
brugeren af aktivet skal påvise, at aktivet er nødvendigt for hans virksomhed, og at finansiering ikke udelukkende er valgt af hensyn til beskatningen
the user of the asset must show that the asset is necessary to his business and that the financing arrangements adopted are not of a purely tax-related nature
og mindst to tredjedele af den skattefordel, der opnås ved godkendelsen, skal tilbageføres til brugeren af aktivet.
two thirds at least of the tax advantage accruing from the approval must be passed on to the user of the asset.
Firmagruppen — der i princippet består af finansieringsinstitutter — køber normalt det aktiv, der skal finansieres, til markedsprisen, og leaser det til brugeren.
As a rule, the EIG — which is generally made up of financial institutions — acquires the asset to be financed at the market price and leases it out to its user.
Den af brugeren erlagte leje og prisen for at kunne udnytte købsoptionen efter kontraktens udløb gør det muligt for firmagruppen at dække sin egen finansiering, herunder renter og kapital.
The leasing charges paid by the user and the price of the end-of-contract purchase option enable the EIG to cover its own financing costs, including capital and interest.
Ud over at den øvre grænse for afskrivningen således ophæves, gør ministeriets godkendelse det muligt at hæve den for det pågældende aktiv normalt gældende koefficient for den degressive afskrivning med et point.
Apart from the removal of the depreciation ceiling, the grant of ministerial approval makes it possible to increase by one point the declining depreciation coefficient normally applicable to the asset concerned.
Fortjenesten ved firmagruppens salg af aktivet til brugeren, der ofte sker, når to tredjedele af den almindelige brugsperiode er gået, er desuden fritaget for beskatning.
Moreover, the resale of the asset by the EIG to its user once two thirds of the normal period of use of the asset has elapsed is exempt from transfer capital gains tax.
For så vidt angår betingelsen om, at der skal foreligge en betydelig økonomisk og social interesse, har de franske myndigheder anført, at der ikke findes retningslinjer for, hvordan denne interesse skal vurderes, og at undersøgelsen heraf især er baseret dels på investeringens indirekte indvirkning på beskæftigelsessituationen, konkurrencedygtigheden og aktivitetens udvikling i det pågældende økonomiske område, herunder navnlig dens bidrag til udviklingen eller etableringen af et produktions-, forvaltnings- eller beslutningscenter, dels på investeringens bidrag til at forbedre sikkerheden og miljøbeskyttelsen.
As to the criterion relating to the existence of a significant economic and social interest, the French authorities have indicated that there are no guidelines for assessing such an interest and that the examination is carried out in the light, firstly, of the indirect fallout from the investment in the labour market area, the conditions of competition and the development of the activity in the economic area concerned, including the contribution to the growth or establishment of a production, management or decision-making centre, and, secondly, of the investment’s contribution to improving safety and protection of the environment.
Med hensyn til tilbageførslen til brugeren af aktivet af mindst to tredjedele af den skattebegunstigelse, som firmagruppen får gennem godkendelsen, fremgår det af artikel 39 CA i skatteloven, at denne tilbageførsel tager form af en lejenedsættelse eller et nedslag i prisen på købsoptionen.
Article 39 CA of the General Tax Code provides that the passing-on to the user of the asset of two thirds at least of the tax advantage which the EIG derives from the grant of approval must take the form of a reduction in the amount of the leasing charge or of the purchase option.
Desuden skal det nøjagtige beløb, som firmagruppen skal tilbageføre til brugeren af aktivet, fastsættes i forbindelse med godkendelsen.
Moreover, the exact amount of the advantage to be passed on by the EIG to the user must be determined at the time of grant of the approval.
På Kommissionens foranledning har de franske myndigheder udarbejdet en opgørelse pr. aktivitetssektor over samtlige ansøgere om godkendelse og de virksomheder, der faktisk er omfattet af den foreliggende ordning:
At the Commission’s request, the French authorities furnished a breakdown by area of activity of all applicants for approval and of the actual beneficiaries of the scheme at issue:
Aktivitetssektorer
Area of activity
Anmodninger om godkendelse
Applications for approval submitted
Beslutninger om godkendelse
Approval decisions granted
Investeringer inden for søfart
Maritime investment
Investeringer inden for luftfart
Aeronautical investment
Investeringer på jernbaneområdet
Railway investment
Investeringer på industriområdet
Industrial investment
Investeringer inden for rumfart
Space investment
0(18) De franske myndigheder har i denne sammenhæng anført, at blandt de 56 anmodninger, for hvilke der ikke er truffet nogen beslutning om godkendelse, er 21 trukket tilbage, 13 er henlagt og 22 afvist.
0(18) The French authorities pointed out in this connection that, of the 56 applications which did not form the subject matter of an approval decision, 21 were withdrawn, 13 led to no further action being taken and 22 were rejected.
Med hensyn til de 22 anmodninger, der blev afvist, har de franske myndigheder præciseret, at 15 heraf vedrørte finansiering af et aktiv inden for søtransport og 7 finansiering af et aktiv inden for lufttransport.
According to the French authorities, of the 22 applications that were rejected 15 concerned the financing of an asset in the maritime transport sector and the remaining 7 the financing of an asset in the air transport sector.
De franske myndigheder har ligeledes fremhævet, at godkendelsesprocedurerne i henhold til skattelovens artikel 39 CA blev ophævet den 14. december 2004, dvs. den dato, de modtog meddelelsen om Kommissionens beslutning om at indlede en formel undersøgelsesprocedure.
The French authorities also pointed out that approval procedures under Article 39 CA of the General Tax Code have been suspended since 14 December 2004, the date on which the decision to initiate the formal investigation procedure was notified to them.
BAGGRUND FOR INDLEDNINGEN AF DEN FORMELLE UNDERSØGELSESPROCEDURE
REASONS FOR INITIATING THE FORMAL INVESTIGATION PROCEDURE
I sin beslutning af 14. december 2004 fandt Kommissionen, at investorerne, medlemmerne af økonomiske firmagrupper med fiskalt sigte og brugerne af de aktiver, som disse firmagrupper havde finansieret, i medfør af artikel 39 CA i skatteloven var blevet indrømmet en begunstigelse.
In its decision of 14 December 2004 the Commission found that an advantage seemed to granted under Article 39 CA of the General Tax Code to investors belonging to tax EIGs and to the users of assets financed by EIGs.
Vedrørende den foreliggende foranstaltnings selektivitet anførte Kommissionen dels, at finansministeriet tilsyneladende havde skønsmæssige beføjelser til at vurdere godkendelsesbetingelserne, hvilket betød, at det efter subjektive kriterier kunne vælge, hvem der skulle have adgang til den foreliggende ordning.
As far as the selectivity of the measure in question was concerned, the Commission noted, firstly, that the Minister for the Budget seemed to enjoy a discretionary power when it came to assessing the approval grant criteria and that this enabled him to select the beneficiaries of the scheme at issue according to subjective standards.
Endvidere mente Kommissionen, at skatteordningen under skattelovens artikel 39 CA var en støtteforanstaltning, som hovedsagelig kom transportsektoren til gode.
Secondly, it appeared that the tax arrangements provided for in Article 39 CA of the General Tax Code constituted an aid measure for the benefit mainly of the transport sector.
Kommissionen fandt i den sammenhæng ikke, at den foreliggende foranstaltning kunne begrundes i det franske skattesystems karakter eller opbygning.
The Commission thus took the view that the measure at issue did not appear to be justified by the nature or general scheme of the French tax system.
Ifølge Kommissionen blev de foreliggende begunstigelser endvidere finansieret med statslige midler, foranstaltningen virkede konkurrenceforvridende og påvirkede samhandelen inden for EU.
In its opinion, the advantages in question also involved the use of state resources, distorted competition and affected intra-Community trade.
For så vidt angår ordningens forenelighed med fællesmarkedet fandt Kommissionen på dette stadium ikke, at der var nogen af undtagelserne i EF-traktatens artikel 87, stk. 2 og 3, som var relevante i det foreliggende tilfælde.
As to the compatibility of the scheme at issue with the common market, the Commission considered at that stage that none of the exceptions provided for in Article 87(2) and (3) of the Treaty were applicable in the present context.
Ordningen opfyldte tilsyneladende hverken betingelserne i retningslinjerne, rammebestemmelserne eller EF-retningslinjerne på statsstøtteområdet.
Nor did the scheme appear to satisfy the conditions of the Community guidelines and frameworks in the field of state aid.
Ordningen var derfor uforenelig med fællesmarkedet.
It was therefore prima facie incompatible with the common market.
Kommissionen har følgelig besluttet at indlede den formelle undersøgelsesprocedure for at fjerne sin tvivl om, hvorvidt ordningen udgør statsstøtte, og om den er forenelig med fællesmarkedet.
The Commission accordingly decided to initiate the formal investigation procedure in order to allay its doubts both as to the state aid nature of the scheme at issue and as to the scheme’s compatibility with the common market.
De franske myndigheder gør i deres bemærkninger indledningsvis gældende, at ordningen under skattelovens artikel 39 CA ikke udgør statsstøtte.
As part of their comments, the French authorities maintained, firstly that the scheme provided for in Article 39 CA of the General Tax Code did not constitute state aid.
Den er alene en teknisk bestemmelse under de almindelige retsregler, som gør det muligt for de offentlige myndigheder at føre tilsyn med den foreliggende finansieringsform, og ikke en undtagelse fra de almindelige retsregler.
It was simply a technical procedure for implementing the ordinary law which made it possible to place the method of financing concerned under the supervision of the authorities, and not a departure from the ordinary law.
Begrænsningen af den fradragsberettigede afskrivning i medfør af skattelovens artikel 39 C, andet afsnit, fastslår en formodning om skatteunddragelse og har til formål at hindre, at denne finansieringsmekanisme udnyttes med henblik på skatteoptimering.
The ceiling on deductible depreciation provided for in the second paragraph of Article 39 C of the General Tax Code sought, by introducing a presumption of tax avoidance, to prevent recourse to that financing mechanism for tax optimisation purposes.
Ordningen under skattelovens artikel 39 CA har ligeledes til formål at bekæmpe skatteunddragelse.
The scheme provided for in Article 39 CA of the General Tax Code was also designed to combat tax avoidance.
Investeringerne i meget store kapitalgoder, der er berørt af denne bestemmelse, forrentes først relativt sent, og leasing sker derfor ikke kun med henblik på skatteoptimering, men er også en økonomisk nødvendighed.
However, the heavy capital goods concerned by that provision were characterised by a relatively long return on investment, and in those circumstances recourse to leasing was motivated not only by a desire for tax optimisation but also by economic necessity.
I denne sammenhæng fremfører de franske myndigheder, at de betingelser, der skal være opfyldt, førend en godkendelse kan gives, gør det muligt at foretage en forudgående vurdering af transaktioner med finansiering af forbrugsgoder gennem leasing med købsoption, således at finansieringer, som er begrundet i skatteoptimering, ikke omfattes af den foreliggende skatteordning.
The French authorities stated that, viewed as a whole, the approval grant criteria made it possible to carry out prior monitoring of capital goods financing operations involving leasing with a purchase option and to deny the benefit of the tax scheme at issue to all financing operations primarily motivated by tax optimisation considerations.
Dette er ifølge de franske myndigheder navnlig tilfældet for betingelsen om, at investeringen skal være af betydelig økonomisk og social interesse, især i henseende til beskæftigelsen, idet den kun er opfyldt, hvis der til anmodningen om godkendelse er knyttet en jobskabelsesforpligtelse.
This was especially the case with the criterion that the investment be of significant economic and social interest, particularly in relation to employment, the satisfaction of which required that the approval application be backed up by commitments to hire staff.
De franske myndigheder præciserer i den sammenhæng, at de nye stillinger skal opretholdes i mindst samme periode, som aktivet bruges, dvs. varigheden af leasingkontrakten eller kontrakten om tilrådighedsstillelse, altså mindst otte år.
The jobs created had to be maintained for the minimum period of use of the asset, i.e., the duration of the leasing contract or of the ‘making available’, namely at least eight years.
De gør gældende, at de skabte job skal betyde en nettoforøgelse af antallet af ansatte i det selskab, der anmoder om godkendelsen, og at disse job skal være direkte knyttet til investeringen.
They also had to lead to a net increase in the number of employees of the company seeking approval and be directly related to the investment.
De franske myndigheder præciserer, at nogle af anmodningerne om godkendelse er blevet afvist, fordi det fremlagte finansieringsprojekt ikke var af betydelig økonomisk og social interesse.
The French authorities pointed out that some applications for approval had been rejected on the ground that the financing proposal submitted lacked significant economic and social interest.
Eksempler på en sådan manglende interesse kan inddeles i to former for situationer.
Two types of situation were characterised by such lack of interest.
For det første at antallet af nye stillinger ikke var stort nok, hverken kvalitativt eller kvantitativt, til at styrke eller gøre det muligt at oprette et beslutnings- og forvaltningscenter.
Firstly, the lack or insufficiency, both quantitative and qualitative, of new hirings capable of strengthening or making possible the establishment of a management or decision-making centre.
For det andet at ansøgerens finansielle situation gav ham adgang til andre finansieringsmidler, som ikke tilskyndede til jobskabelse.
And, secondly, the state of affairs whereby the applicant’s financial position enabled him to have recourse to other means of financing which were not in the nature of an incentive.
Betingelsen om, at medlemmerne af firmagruppen skal tilbageføre størstedelen af den skattemæssige begunstigelse, som de indrømmes i medfør af skattelovens artikel 39 CA, til brugeren af aktivet, har ligeledes til formål at bekæmpe skatteoptimering, idet transaktioner, som alene tager sigte på likviditetsforbedringer, ikke er omfattet af ordningen.
The criterion relating to the passing-on to the user of most of the tax advantage accruing to the EIG's members under Article 39 CA of the General Tax Code also made it possible, according to the French authorities, to combat tax optimisation by excluding from the benefit of that provision operations which were designed only to generate increased cash flow.
Desuden gør de franske myndigheder gældende, at denne kontrolmulighed ikke har skønsmæssig karakter.
The French authorities pointed out, further, that the monitoring arrangement thus introduced was not discretionary in character.
I den sammenhæng henviser de til Conseil Constitutionnels (det franske forfatningsråds) retspraksis, i henhold til hvilken en godkendelse som omfattet af skattelovens artikel 39 CA ikke indrømmes skønsmæssigt, men at finansministeriet alene har beføjelse til at sikre, at den foreliggende transaktion opfylder lovens bestemmelser.
They referred in this connection to the decision by the French Constitutional Council to the effect that an approval such as that provided for in Article 39 CA of the General Tax Code was not so much a discretionary measure as one which conferred on the Minister for the Budget sole power to ensure that the operation in question satisfied the conditions laid down by law.
Den skattemæssige begunstigelse i form af fradraget af afskrivningsbeløbet medfører under alle omstændigheder ikke noget skatteindtægtstab, blot en omfordeling af skattegrundlaget over tid.
At all events, so the French authorities claimed, the tax advantage attaching to the deduction of the amount of depreciation did not lead to any loss of tax revenue, being more akin to a different breakdown, over time, of the taxable base.