natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Det er da også disse oplysninger, som de franske myndigheder påberåber sig som grundlag for deres egen beslutning i 1997.
The overall amount of tax collected from EDF, above and beyond the contested exemption, under the state's tax-raising powers, and the remuneration paid to the state as shareholder, are mixed up together in the evidence submitted by the French authorities.
I 1997 lå den gennemsnitlige rente på langfristede franske obligationer (30 år) på 6,35 %.
Nevertheless, in their view, this evidence points to the existence of an investment decision.
Selv for løbetider, der var kortere (10 år) end levetiden for EDF's installationer, var den gennemsnitlige rente på franske statsobligationer 5,58 % [32].
On the contrary, the fact that the payment of tax due by EDF to the state as revenue collector, including by the regularisation and discharge of the tax that had not been collected prior to Act No 97-1026, was constantly taken into account for the purposes of examining and setting the remuneration to the state as shareholder tends to indicate that the disputed tax exemption was adopted by the state acting as a public authority and not as an investor.
Derfor ville en fornuftig privat markedsøkonomisk investor have krævet en større rentabilitet end den, han kunne få af statsobligationer.
The state asked EDF to help boost the competitiveness of French industry and the purchasing power of French households.
Men undersøgelsen af den løbende rentabilitet, som den franske stat kunne regne med i 1996-1997, sådan som den fremgår af dokumenter, som de franske myndigheder har fremsendt, gør det ikke muligt at konkludere, at investeringen opfylder det markedsøkonomiske investorprincip.
Not only would such concerns have been alien to a prudent private investor in a market economy, they would have run counter to the hypothetical investor's financial interests.
Skønnene i tabellen understøttes af andre dokumenter fra dengang (jf. betragtning 96-97 og 103).
Economic evaluations to determine the profitability of the supposed investment
Disse skøn over EDF's referencescenario for den følgende periode var blevet godkendt af de statslige myndigheder (jf. betragtning 97).
The contract for services between EDF and the state signed on 8 April 1997 contained a prior evaluation of the financial scenario, including projections of the return for the state as shareholder on the investment in the form of contributions to EDF's capital (recital 92).
På grundlag af denne resultatopgørelse og de summer, som staten forventedes at investere i EDF (jf. betragtning 100, tabel 2), er det muligt at beregne den rentabilitet, som staten kunne regne med på henholdsvis kapitaltilførslerne til EDF, EDF's samlede kapital (oprindelig og tilførsler) og EDF's egenkapital (samlet kapital, opskrivningsbeløb, lovpligtige reserver og overførsler) [33] ifølge tabel 4.
The documents and analyses put forward by the French authorities relate to the expected effects of reclassifying all the provisions constituted by EDF, whether mandatory or not, whether resulting from Act No 97-1026 or not.
Tabel 4
The only systematic evaluation presented by the French authorities in the EDF memo of 18 February 1997 (recital 92) is general and confined to the statutory remuneration on the capital contributions, including those pre-dating the restructuring of EDF's balance sheet, but excluding, for example, remuneration on other capital or own funds.
Forventet forrentning af kapitalposterne på EDF's balance 1997-2000 (mia. FRF)
None of the documents submitted by France or by EDF demonstrate that the supposed investment decision, namely to make a bigger capital contribution to EDF by waiving tax on the reclassification, was the subject of specific scrutiny, study or analysis.
Kommissionens beregning ud fra tabel 1 og 2.
However, given the amounts involved, a prudent private investor in a market economy would in all probability have conducted a financial and economic analysis of the investment before deciding whether, in view of the statutory return on the capital contributions, the amount of FRF 5,88 billion in tax exemption was needed for the undertaking to guarantee the long-term profitability of its overall investment and for the shareholder to be sufficiently remunerated.
Variabel del
It is particularly striking that, apart from the remuneration to be paid to the state over the 1997-2000 period, no study of the remuneration or return in the longer term was carried out, although France claims precisely to have made a long-term investment.
Det fremgår af de dokumenter, som de franske myndigheder nævner og har fremsendt, at staten som aktionær i 1997 forventede en forrentning fra EDF i den fulde periode 1997-2000 på 9,4 mia. FRF, heraf 6 mia. FRF i form af den faste andel på 3 % og 3,4 mia. FRF for hele perioden i form af den supplerende andel efter omposteringerne som følge af lov nr. 97-1026.
Without the tax exemption, the ratio would have been around 163 %, or some three times lower than the ratio of 480 % before Act No 97-1026.
Ud fra de skøn, der blev godkendt dengang, var den løbende gennemsnitlige rentabilitet, som staten som aktionær kunne håbe på fremover, 2,94 % af EDF's samlede egenkapital, 4,41 % af den samlede kapital investeret af staten i EDF og 4,64 % af summen af kapitaltilførsler.
Considered separately from the other effects of the reclassification of the various provisions, the contribution of the tax exemption to the improvement in the ratio is negligible and it is very doubtful that it had a real effect in terms of reducing the cost of borrowing for EDF (recitals 170 to 172).
Denne forrentning, som gjaldt for beløbet for skattefritagelsen, som blev omposteret som kapitaltilførsel, lå langt under de 6,35 % på de obligationer, som den franske stat udstedte i 1997 med henblik på sin egen langsigtede finansiering.
In any event, the documents submitted by the French authorities do not mention or analyse in investment terms the return for the shareholder resulting from a ratio of 148 %, still less a ratio of 163 %.
En fornuftig privat markedsøkonomisk investor ville have ment, at den forventede løbende rentabilitet af et beløb på 5,88 mia. FRF svarende til skattefritagelsen var utilstrækkelig til at berettige investeringen.
In this connection, there are no prior economic evaluations comparable to those which a rational private investor in a market economy would have had carried out, as referred to by the Court of Justice in paragraph 84 of its judgment.
I øvrigt vurderede Domstolen i præmis 96 i sin dom af 5. juni 2012, at det er muligt i forbindelse med anvendelsen af det markedsøkonomiske investorprincip at tage højde for forskellen mellem den investeringsomkostning, som henholdsvis en privat investor og staten bærer.
The economic study submitted by EDF in support of its comments (recitals 69-70) does not find that France acted as an investor rather than a public authority.
Det indebærer en sammenligning mellem den rentabilitet, som ifølge de franske myndigheder berettigede omposteringerne af henlæggelserne af koncessionsafgifter med beløbet for skattefritagelsen, og den rentabilitet, som en privat aktionær ville have opnået ved at foretage den samme rekapitalisering af en virksomhed, der på alle punkter kan sammenlignes med EDF, bortset fra beføjelsen til at fritage kapitaltilførslen for selskabsskat, som ikke er en privat investor beskåret.
The study was produced after the supposed investment decision taken in 1997 and was not examined by the authorities responsible for taking such a decision.
En sådan virksomhed, hvis aktionær havde haft 5,88 mia. FRF til en rekapitalisering heraf på vilkår, der var identiske med EDF's, ville have haft udsigt til en forrentning på 4,64 % årligt af den yderligere kapital, som aktionæren havde investeret, nemlig 272 mio. FRF om året, uden hensyntagen til selskabsskatten.
For this reason alone, the study is not admissible as evidence, as set out by the Court of Justice (recital 126, paragraph 104 of the judgment of 5 June).
Ved at anvende selskabsskattesatsen på 41,66 %, der var gældende i 1997, blev den forventede forrentning 159 mio. FRF om året for samme kapitaltilførsel eller en årlig nominel forrentning på 2,7 %.
The fact that the study used authentic basic data available at the time does not invalidate this conclusion.
Denne sats for en andel af kapitalen i en virksomhed med de risici, der knytter sig til en sådan investering, skal sammenlignes med 6,35 % ydet på franske statsobligationer i samme periode.
The study was commissioned to support the case following the extension of the investigation procedure in May 2013 and the conclusions it would reach were apparently known to EDF in July 2013, although the study dates from October 2013.
Den lave forrentning ville derfor have skræmt en privat investor væk, som ikke havde statens skattemæssige beføjelser.
Other grounds also invalidate the quantified findings of the study, and consequently undermine the conclusions that EDF draws from it in support of its comments;
Med så beskedne rentabilitetsudsigter for den investerede kapital synes det udelukket, at en fornuftig privat investor, hvis virksomhed var pligtig at betale selskabsskat af kapitaltilførslerne, ville have deltaget i kapitalstigningen i EDF i 1997 i statens sted.
these grounds are: The study uses basic data almost exclusively from the time and applies widely recognised methodological approaches for evaluating enterprise value, subject to the major reservations set out below.
Det skal derfor undersøges, om de dokumenter og oplysninger, der var samtidige med beslutningen om at ompostere henlæggelserne uden at påligne skat, som Frankrig har fremsendt, indeholder yderligere indikationer, som kunne have overbevist en fornuftig privat investor om at foretage den påståede investering uanset den tilsyneladende meget beskedne rentabilitet.
For all that, it constitutes a particularly complex economic evaluation, following relatively thorough data research, which took some three months to carry out and validate.
Disse indikationer kan bl.a. vedrøre EDF's kapacitet til at i) øge sine driftsindtægter på langt sigt, ii) forbedre sine driftsresultater gennem effektivisering, iii) øge nettoværdien af virksomhedens produktionsaktiver eller iv) levere en konstant og tilstrækkelig forrentning til sin aktionær.
This complex process comprised successive and various methodological choices, some of which are questionable.
Det er faktorer, som potentielt kan skabe værdi på langt sigt for aktionæren på baggrund af positive prognoser, men være ødelæggende for værdien med negative prognoser.
Without this process, it is quite impossible, from the basic data drawn from scattered and diverse sources, to form an overall view or make a quantified projection of the profitability that the French state could expect in 1997, as the study does.
I denne henseende indeholder ingen af de dokumenter, som de franske myndigheder har fremsendt, en kvantificering, endsige en kvalitativ evaluering af en eventuel værdiskabelse for aktionæren, som de franske myndigheder har undersøgt og taget i betragtning for perioden 1997-2000 og derefter.
However, the Court of Justice requires the private investor test to be based on evaluations which were foreseeable at the time when the decision to make the investment was taken (paragraph 105 of the judgment of 5 June 2012).
Der findes kun generelle generiske referencer til en bedre hensyntagen til statens interesser som aktionær.
Contrary to what is claimed by EDF, the very fact that, with data available in 1996-1997, the relevant authorities of the French state did not themselves carry out or commission a study on this scale and with this level of complexity indicates that the profitability of the investment for the shareholder was not the sole relevant consideration for the French authorities when they took their decision.
Det tyder på, at virksomhedens værdistigning som investering for staten som aktionær ikke blev taget i betragtning for at træffe den påståede beslutning.
The study analyses the conduct of the French state in the light of the private investor principle using information and hypotheses that are very different from those outlined in recitals 87 to 108 and which, according to the French authorities, formed the basis for the supposed decision.
Der er stort set tale om en stagnation, som kan forklares ved det mål, som staten havde fastsat for EDF om at »bidrage til fransk erhvervslivs konkurrenceevne og den hjemlige forbrugers øgede købekraft«, hvilket udmøntede sig i en gennemsnitlig nedsættelse på […] % af EDF's priser over fire år (jf. betragtning 89 og 95-96) eller en årlig nedbringelse på […] %.
As such, the study is based on speculation and conjecture with respect to the data, information and hypotheses that the French authorities might have taken into account (among other possible options) in 1997 and has no force as evidence in 2015 (or October 2013, when it was carried out) to explain the decision taken by the French authorities in 1997, which these authorities themselves explain with reference to different data and hypotheses.
EDF udøvede den væsentligste del af sin virksomhed i Frankrig, idet det var bestemt for perioden 1997-2000, at over 89 % af EDF's indtægter skulle komme fra det franske marked.
The study's value as evidence is undermined still further by the fact that, to reach the findings outlined in recital 70, the study relies on hypotheses which are arbitrary or random, or uncorroborated by the facts, or counter to the information contained in the evidence provided by the French authorities and which, according to them, illustrates that the private investor test is applicable and does in fact apply in this case.
Derfor afhang størstedelen af disse indtægter af de valg, som staten traf med hensyn til prissætning på elektricitet.
So, first, the study conjectures that after 2000, the remuneration paid to the state as shareholder would not be regulated by decree and contained in a contract between the state and EDF but would be set by reference to the dividends which other undertakings in the sector paid in 1996-1997 [27].
En fornuftig privat investor ville ikke have undladt at notere sig den begrænsende karakter, som fastsættelsen af offentlige politiske målsætninger, der var i strid med hans interesser som aktionær, ville have for hans formueinteresser.
However, the remuneration on the capital contributions to EDF had been regulated by decree since 1956 (recital 102) and was statutory and reflected in the multiannual contracts before and after 1997, in the light of considerations unrelated to the dividends paid by undertakings in the sector operating in markets other than France (recitals 94 and 95).
Ingen fornuftig privat investor ville have accepteret en nedsættelse af forrentningen af sin investering til fordel for franske virksomheders konkurrenceevne.
Likewise, and in second place, the study, with no good reason, reintroduced into EDF's income statement provisions from EDF's company accounts worth FRF 11,6 billion (before tax) and FRF 7,3 billion (after tax) [28], artificially increasing EDF's value by that amount without taking account of the information which was available and the developments which were foreseeable in 1997 with respect to EDF's commitments under its staff pension scheme (recitals 168-169).
Med tillæg af afskrivninger og finansielle omkostninger til resultatet af den primære virksomhed var den forventede udvikling for 1997-2000 også negativ, eftersom denne sum skulle falde fra 62,6 mia. FRF til 53,9 mia. FRF, dvs. et fald på 13,9 %.
Thirdly, the increase in the value of EDF resulting from the increase in return and results is calculated in the study on the basis of the ‘market expectations’ in 1997 [29].
Men det er udviklingen i resultatet af den løbende virksomhed før afskrivninger og renter, som på sigt afgør virksomhedens kapacitet til at generere værdi og positive pengestrømme.
However, the French authorities had specific and quantified projections for EDF's revenue and income for 1997 to 2000, validated as part of the process of drawing up the contract for services for the same period and stated that they relied on these projections and data to take their decision (recitals 78-79, 90, 94, 96);
Ud over den forventede nedsættelse havde staten i sin forfølgelse af økonomipolitiske målsætninger fastsat det mål for EDF, at virksomheden skulle anvende sine eventuelle effektiviseringsgevinster og produktivitetsstigninger til en yderligere nedsættelse af priserne, før den anvendte dem til en bedre forrentning til aktionæren (jf. betragtning 95).
they also had in 1997 detailed knowledge of the undertaking and its financial prospects (recital 77).
Det følger heraf, at EDF's løbende drift, tynget af statens økonomipolitiske målsætninger, ikke kunne give forventning om en tilfredsstillende fremtidig forrentning.
The use of ‘market expectations’ from third parties to estimate EDF's value in these circumstances is neither reliable nor consistent with the arguments put forward by France to explain the decision which its authorities are supposed to have taken, all the more so since the French authorities argue that most of EDF's business in 1997 was conducted in France subject to regulated tariffs (recital 85).
Som Kommissionen nævnte i sin udvidelsesafgørelse ville en fornuftig privat investor have taget højde for usikkerheden, hvad angik summen af og udviklingen i de pensionsfinansieringsomkostninger, som EDF skulle afholde i 1997 i henhold til den særlige ordning for el- og gassektoren.
Moreover, these tariffs were set at a low level with a view to boosting the competitiveness of French industry and the purchasing power of French households (recitals 89 and 95).
Den forventelige stigning i pensionsudgifterne var derfor større end det nettoresultat efter forrentning til staten og skat, der forventedes for perioden 1997-2000 som vist i tabel 1.
Lastly, and in fourth place, the study postulates with no justification that increasing the capital contribution to EDF in 1997 was, at least potentially, equivalent to acquiring a liquid financial asset [31].
Derfor ville den evaluering, som i 1997 kunne foretages af en fornuftig privat markedsøkonomisk investor, som i lighed med den franske stat ville have haft et solidt kendskab til virksomhedens situation, have fået vedkommende til at forhøje virksomhedens fremtidige udgifter og tilsvarende nedsætte sine forventninger til investeringens rentabilitet.
However, in 1997 EDF was a public industrial and commercial establishment with no share capital (recital 19), with the French authorities and EDF affirming at the time that it would retain this status in the future (recitals 95, 105).
I øvrigt kunne en fornuftig privat investor forvente en betydelig reduktion af EDF's gæld, som skulle falde fra […] FRF til […] FRF over fire år (jf. betragtning 91 og 95).
The arbitrary nature of this postulation, on which the findings of the study none the less crucially depend, is demonstrated in more detail in recitals 179 to 181.
Imidlertid står det fast, at EDF beholdt en rating på Aaa hos kreditvurderingsbureauet Moody's fra 1992 til 1996 med en gældsgrad på 480 %.
Nature and subject-matter of the measure, its context and the rules to which it is subject
De franske myndigheder nævner også i temmelig vage vendinger, at EDF genererede midler for 70 mia. FRF i perioden 1997-2000 (jf. betragtning 84).
The Court of Justice states that the nature of the measure is one of the relevant factors to take into account when ascertaining whether the private investor principle is applicable (paragraph 86 of its judgment).
Imidlertid skulle EDF's gældsætning og dens mekaniske virkning for værdien af virksomhedens nettoaktiver ikke give sig udslag i en forbedring af forrentningen til den franske stat i samme periode, men tværtimod i en gældsnedbringelse i forhold til perioden 1991-1996 (jf. betragtning 134).
The decision to contribute additional capital to EDF by waiving the tax on the reclassification of the irregular RAG provisions is both an accounting decision on moving amounts between different items on EDF's balance sheet (recitals 100 and 105) and a tax decision, since the authorities responsible deemed that the corporation tax should be levied before reclassification (recital 35), even though tax was paid on other reclassified accounting provisions.
Som EDF selv angiver, ville EDF have haft en glimrende rating, selv efter en eventuel nedsættelse heraf hos bureauer som Moody's og Standard & Poor's (jf. betragtning 71).
Contrary to what is claimed by the French authorities, it has not been established that the two accounting and tax strands are indissociable within a single measure put in place by Act No 97-1026 of 10 November 1997.
I øvrigt nævnes EDF's gældsnedbringelse på […] FRF blandt de mål, der blev fastsat for 1997-2000.
Article 4(2) of the Act provides that the value of the assets in kind allocated under concession to the RAG and appearing as liabilities on EDF's balance sheet should be entered, net of the corresponding revaluation reserves, under the item ‘contributed capital’ (recital 28).
Gældsnedbringelsen skulle resultere i en betydelig nedbringelse af EDF's samlede renteudgifter.
It could be concluded that, under the Act, any revaluation reserves aside, no further accounting or tax treatment was to reduce the value entered as a capital contribution to EDF.
Derfor ville hverken nedbringelsen af EDF's samlede gæld eller omkostningen herved eller de eventuelle fordele for staten som aktionær være blevet svækket af en mindre kapitaltilførsel på 44,8 mia. FRF i stedet for 50,7 mia. FRF.
However, in accordance with Article 34 of the French Constitution, the decision to levy tax or not is not a matter regulated by law, and Act No 97-1026 could not therefore legitimately settle this question.
En gældsgrad på 163 % i stedet for de 148 %, som ventedes på grund af skattefritagelsen, ville ikke have været begrænsende for aktionærens interesser.
Under this Article, Parliament's legislative powers in tax matters are confined to setting the base, rates and collection procedures for tax of all kinds.
I denne henseende findes der ikke nogen optimal finansiel struktur, og rapporten fra Assemblée nationale (jf. betragtning 100) viser gældsgrader i sektoren fra 250 % (Verbund, Østrig) til 10-15 % (Veba, Tyskland, og PowerGen, Det Forenede Kongerige).
EDF paid corporation tax on some accounting provisions and not on others following the same reclassification operation provided for in the Act.
Gældsætningen gjorde det muligt for EDF at finansiere sin vækst og sine resultater uden ekstra kapital fra aktionæren, idet rentabiliteten af den kapital, som staten allerede have investeret, steg ved hjælp af gældens gearingseffekt.
Furthermore, the preparatory documents submitted by the French authorities and referred to in recital 104 show that the Council of State took the view in 1997 that non-legislative provisions should be eliminated from the draft law;
Men gældsnedbringelsen blev prioriteret, selv om EDF havde en glimrende rating før den planlagte gældsnedbringelse (jf. betragtning 71).
a draft amendment designed to limit the amounts that the state could collect from EDF under the Act was also rejected.
I øvrigt er den glimrende rating, der afspejler EDF's kapacitet til at betale sine kreditorer før 1996, ikke uforenelig med en beskeden forrentning til aktionæren.
Lastly, the line ministers took the view in April 1997 that the detailed arrangements for implementing EDF's restructuring, on both the accounting and the tax fronts, should be the subject of further discussions between the supervising authorities and the undertaking (recital 98).
Tværtimod ville kreditvurderingen af de gældsbeviser, som EDF udstedte, være desto bedre, fordi aktionærens betaling var beskeden.
These implementation arrangements, detailed and quantified in the letter from the line ministries to EDF on 22 December 1997, following the adoption of the Act (recital 31), suggest that the tax elements were dissociable from the provisions of Act No 97-1026 of 10 November 1997.