natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
For så vidt angår den påståede vanskelighed med at bestemme støttebeløbet efter ordningen kan Kommissionen ikke se, hvori vanskeligheden med en sådan bestemmelse består.
Article 16(1) of Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 establishes an obligation on the Commission to order recovery of unlawful and incompatible aid.
Eftersom skattefritagelsen for overskydende fortjeneste svarer til en procentdel af fortjenesten før skat anvendt på den fortjeneste, den belgiske koncernenhed reelt har bogført, er det — for at fjerne den selektive fordel ved foranstaltningen — tilstrækkeligt at tilbagebetale forskellen mellem den skyldige skat på grundlag af den reelt bogførte fortjeneste og den faktisk betalte skat som følge af den omhandlede ordning med tillæg af påløbne renter af dette beløb fra datoen for ydelse af støtten.
That provision also provides that the Member State concerned shall take all necessary measures to recover unlawful aid that is found to be incompatible with the internal market.
Vedrørende Belgiens argument om, at tilbagesøgningen kan føre til dobbeltbeskatning, henviser Kommissionen til afsnit 6.3.3 og minder om, at der kun kan ske dobbeltbeskatning, når den samme fortjeneste er inkluderet i den belgiske koncernenheds beskatningsgrundlag og i en udenlandsk forbundet enheds beskatningsgrundlag.
Article 16(2) of Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 establishes that the aid is to be recovered, including interest from the date on which the unlawful aid was at the disposal of the beneficiary until the date of its effective recovery.
Skattefritagelsen for overskydende fortjeneste vedrører imidlertid en ensidig regulering, som ikke ydes på grund af en anden skattemyndigheds tidligere beskatning af den samme fortjeneste.
Commission Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 [123] elaborates the methods to be used for the calculation of recovery interest.
Selv om risikoen for dobbeltbeskatning skulle skabe en legitim frygt, kunne denne under alle omstændigheder fjernes gennem de normale tvistbilæggelsesmekanismer i overensstemmelse med bilaterale dobbeltbeskatningsaftaler, EU's voldgiftsaftale eller en korrekt anvendelse af artikel 185, stk. 2, litra b), i CIR 92.
Finally, Article 16(3) of Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 states, that ‘recovery shall be effected without delay and in accordance with the procedures under the national law of the Member State concerned, provided that they allow for the immediate an effective execution of the Commission decision’.
Som forklaret i betragtning 173 ville den belgiske skattemyndigheds negative reguleringer på grund af en anden skattemyndigheds beskatning af den samme fortjeneste (som følge af den skattepligtiges angivelse eller en oprindelig positiv regulering foretaget af den udenlandske skattemyndighed) være begrundet i skattesystemets karakter og opbygning og ville ikke være statsstøtte.
Legitimate expectations and legal certainty
Kort sagt kan ingen af de argumenter, Belgien fremfører med henblik på at forhindre eller begrænse tilbagesøgningen af den støtte, der er ydet efter den omhandlede ordning, antages.
Article 16(1) of Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 also provides that the Commission shall not require recovery of the aid if this would be contrary to a general principle of law.
Tilbagesøgningsmetode
Belgium argues, first, that recovery should be prevented by the principles of legitimate expectations and legal certainty, since previous Commission decisions on transfer pricing and State aid have led it to believe that there can be no State aid involved in a particular fiscal measure if the Member State adheres to the arm's length principle.
I henhold til TEUF og Domstolens faste retspraksis er Kommissionen, når den har fundet støtte uforenelig med det indre marked, kompetent til at beslutte, at den pågældende medlemsstat skal ophæve eller ændre den.
It further argues that recovery should be prevented because the aid amount is difficult to quantify and because recovery might lead to double taxation.
Ifølge Domstolens faste retspraksis har en medlemsstats forpligtelse til at ophæve den støtte, som Kommissionen anser for at være uforenelig med det indre marked, til formål at genetablere den tidligere situation.
As regards Belgium's reliance on the principle of legitimate expectations, the Commission recalls that, according to the case-law of the Union courts [124], a Member State whose authorities have granted aid in breach of the procedural rules laid down in Article 108(3) of the Treaty may not plead the legitimate expectations of an aid beneficiary to justify a failure to comply with the obligation to take the steps necessary to implement a Commission decision instructing it to recover the aid.
I den sammenhæng har Domstolen fastslået, at dette mål er nået, når modtageren har tilbagebetalt de beløb, der er givet som ulovlig støtte, hvorved modtageren mister den fordel, der var opnået på markedet i forhold til konkurrenterne, og situationen fra tiden før ydelsen af støtte er genoprettet.
If it were allowed to do so, Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty would be deprived of all practical force, since national authorities would thus be able to rely on their own unlawful conduct to render decisions taken by the Commission under those provisions of the Treaty ineffective.
Ingen bestemmelse i EU-retten kræver, at Kommissionen skal fastsætte den nøjagtige størrelse af det tilbagebetalingspligtige støttebeløb, når den fastslår, at en støtte, som er erklæret uforenelig med det indre marked, skal tilbagebetales.
Thus, it is not for the Member State concerned, but for the recipient undertaking, to invoke the existence of exceptional circumstances on the basis of which it had entertained legitimate expectations, leading it to decline to repay the unlawful aid [125].
Det er tværtimod tilstrækkeligt, at Kommissionens afgørelse indeholder anvisninger, hvorved afgørelsens adressat uden overdrevne vanskeligheder selv kan fastslå beløbet [132].
Since none of the beneficiaries of the contested scheme claimed a legitimate expectation as to the lawfulness of that scheme, the Commission considers Belgium's reliance on that principle ineffective for the purposes of recovery under the present Decision.
I tilfælde af ulovlig statsstøtte i form af skatteforanstaltninger skal det beløb, der skal tilbagesøges, beregnes på grundlag af en sammenligning mellem den faktisk betalte skat og den skat, der skulle være betalt i henhold til den almindeligt gældende regel, jf. punkt 35 i meddelelsen om erhvervsbeskatning.
In any event, for a claim of legitimate expectations to succeed, the expectation must arise from prior Commission action in the form of precise assurances [126].
For at beregne det skattebeløb, som burde være blevet betalt, hvis de almindeligt gældende regler var blevet overholdt, dvs. hvis skattefritagelsen for overskydende skat ikke var blevet bevilget, skal den belgiske skattemyndighed revurdere den skat, som skal betales af de enheder, der har været omfattet af den omhandlede ordning for hvert regnskabsår, de har draget fordel af den.
No such precise assurance have been given to Belgium with respect to the Excess Profit exemption scheme.
I de støttebeløb, der skal tilbagesøges hos hver støttemodtager [133], skal der tages hensyn til:
In particular, beyond the fact that the Code of Conduct group's Report on which the Presidency based its conclusions of 19 March 2003 has not been published, the Court has confirmed that the conclusions of the Council of Ministers endorsing an agreement reached by the Member States in the context of the review of national tax measures by the Code of Conduct group do not constitute such precise assurances [127].
det beløb, der er sparet i skat som følge af samtlige forhåndsafgørelser, der er truffet til fordel for modtageren, og
The Court notably confirmed that ‘the conclusions of the Council express an aspiration of a political nature and cannot, by reason of their contents, produce legal effects on which parties could rely before the Court.
de påløbne renter beregnet fra datoen for tildeling af støtten.
Furthermore, those conclusions could in no event bind the Commission in the exercise of its own powers, which are conferred on it by the Treaty in State aid matters’.
Støtten anses for at være ydet på den dato, hvor det sparede beløb skulle have været betalt for hvert skatteår, såfremt der ikke forelå en forhåndsafgørelse.
As regards Belgium's reliance on the principle of legal certainty and, in particular, the Commission's previous decision-making practice accepting the arm's length principle, the Commission recalls, as a preliminary matter, that it is not bound by its decision-making practice.
Det sparede skattebeløb i et bestemt regnskabsår som følge af en bestemt forhåndsafgørelse svarer til
Each potential aid measure must be assessed on the basis of its own merits under the objective criteria of Article 107(1) of the Treaty, so that even if a contrary decision-making practice were shown to exist, that could not affect the findings of the present decision [128].
den fortjeneste, der faktisk er trukket fra et positivt skattegrundlag
The Commission further observes that according to the decisions cited by Belgium, the Commission has previously concluded that a deviation from the arm's length principle for determining a group entity's taxable profit will constitute State aid where it leads to a reduction of that entity's tax liability under the ordinary system of taxation of corporate profits [129].
ganget med selskabsskatteprocenten for det pågældende skatteår.
In addition, the Commission recalls that it clearly concluded in the context of its investigation into the new Coordination Centres scheme proposed by Belgium that profit accrued to a Belgian entity in excess of a profit determined according to a cost plus method should be subject to tax in Belgium even though the cost plus method led to a profit deemed to be at arm's length [130].
I princippet burde der tages hensyn til det fradrag for overskydende skat, den skattepligtige har opgivet i sin årlige selvangivelse, eventuelt efter den belgiske skattemyndigheds korrektion i forbindelse med en skattekontrol med henblik på beregning af det sparede skattebeløb.
That conclusion has been confirmed by the Court of Justice [131].
Hvis det fradrag, støttemodtageren har ret til i et bestemt regnskabsår, ikke (fuldt ud) kan foretages i løbet af dette regnskabsår på grund af et utilstrækkeligt positivt skattegrundlag, og hvis det ikkefratrukne beløb overføres til et senere skatteår, anses støtten for at være givet i løbet af det eller de senere skatteår, når de overskydende fortjenestebeløb faktisk kan fratrækkes et positivt beskatningsgrundlag.
Considering that the Excess Profit exemption scheme constitutes a deviation from the arm's length principle, as demonstrated in Section 6.3.2.2, Belgium cannot rely on those decisions to claim that recovery would be contrary to the general principle of legal certainty.
Eftersom tilbagesøgningen skal sikre, at den skat, støttemodtageren i sidste instans skal betale, er den skat, den pågældende skulle have betalt, hvis fritagelsesordningen for overskydende fortjeneste ikke havde eksisteret, kan metoden, som er beskrevet i betragtning 207 til 210, yderligere præciseres i samarbejde med de belgiske myndigheder i løbet af tilbagesøgningsprocessen med henblik på at fastslå det faktiske beløb, den skattefordel repræsenterer, som støttemodtagerne har fået i forhold til deres individuelle situation.
On the contrary, Belgium should have been aware that a tax scheme that leads to a favourable treatment for the beneficiaries under that scheme in terms of artificially lowering their tax base, could lead to a violation of the State aid rules and should therefore, in case of doubt, have notified the contested scheme to the Commission before putting it into effect.
Den skat, der skulle have været betalt, hvis fritagelsesordningen for overskydende fortjeneste ikke havde eksisteret, skal beregnes på grundlag af de generelle regler i Belgien på tidspunktet for ydelse af støtten og under hensyntagen til støttemodtagerens faktiske og retlige situation og ikke andre hypotetiske situationer baseret på forskellige operationelle og retlige omstændigheder, som støttemodtageren kunne have valgt i mangel af den omhandlede skattefritagelsesordning.
As regards the alleged difficulty to quantify the aid amount under the scheme, the Commission sees no difficulty in quantifying that amount.
FORSLAG TIL AFGØRELSE
Since the Excess Profit exemption corresponds to a percentage of pre-tax profit applied to the Belgian group entity's profit actually recorded, all that is needed to eliminate the selective advantage granted by the measure is the repayment of the difference between the tax due on the profit actually recorded and the tax effectively paid as a result of the contested scheme plus the cumulated interest on that amount as from the moment that the aid was granted.
Kommissionen fastslår afslutningsvis, at Belgien ulovligt har iværksat skattefritagelsesordningen for overskydende fortjeneste i strid med artikel 108, stk. 3, i TEUF.
Finally, as regards Belgium's argument that recovery might lead to double taxation, the Commission refers to Section 6.3.3 and recalls that double taxation can only occur in situations where the same profit is included in the tax base of the Belgian group entity as well as in the tax base of an associated foreign entity.
I medfør af artikel 16 i forordning (EU) 2015/1589 er Belgien forpligtet til at tilbagesøge den samlede støtte, der er ydet til modtagerne af den omhandlede støtte —
The Excess Profit exemption, however, concerns a unilateral adjustment that is not granted in response to the prior taxation of the same profit in another tax jurisdiction.
VEDTAGET DENNE AFGØRELSE:
In any event, even if double taxation were a legitimate concern, it could be solved through the normal resolution mechanisms put in place pursuant to Double Tax Treaties, the EU Arbitration Convention or the proper application of Article 185(2)(b) WIB 92 itself.
Artikel 1
Indeed, as explained in recital 172, downward adjustments applied by the Belgian tax administration in response to the taxation of the same profit in another tax jurisdiction (following their declaration by the taxpayer or a primary upward adjustment applied by the foreign jurisdiction) would then be justified by the nature and general scheme of the tax system and would not constitute State aid.
Skattefritagelsesordningen for overskydende fortjeneste, som er baseret på artikel 185, stk. 2, litra b), i indkomstskatteloven af 1992, ifølge hvilken Belgien har truffet forhåndsafgørelser til fordel for belgiske enheder af multinationale koncerner, hvorigennem Belgien indrømmer de nævnte enheder fritagelse for selskabsskat for så vidt angår en del af deres fortjeneste, udgør støtte, jf. artikel 107, stk. 1, i TEUF, som er uforenelig med det indre marked og er iværksat ulovligt af Belgien i strid med artikel 108, stk. 3, i TEUF.
In conclusion, none of Belgium's arguments for preventing or limiting recovery of aid granted through the application of the contested scheme can be accepted.
Artikel 2
Methodology for recovery
Belgien er forpligtet til at tilbagesøge den uforenelige og ulovlige støtte, jf. artikel 1, hos modtagerne heraf.
In accordance with the Treaty and the established case-law of the Court of Justice, the Commission is competent to decide that the Member State concerned must abolish or alter aid when it has found that it is incompatible with the internal market.
Ethvert beløb, som endnu ikke er tilbagesøgt hos støttemodtagere efter tilbagesøgningen, jf. stk. 1, tilbagesøges hos den koncern, støttemodtageren er en del af.
The Court has also consistently held that the obligation on a State to abolish aid regarded by the Commission as being incompatible with the internal market is designed to re-establish the previously existing situation.
Den støtte, der skal tilbagesøges, pålægges renter fra det tidspunkt, hvor den blev udbetalt til støttemodtageren, og indtil den er blevet tilbagebetalt.
In this context, the Court has stated that that objective is attained once the recipient has repaid the amounts granted by way of unlawful aid, thus forfeiting the advantage which it had enjoyed over its competitors on the market, and the situation prior to the payment of the aid is restored.
Renten af det beløb, der skal tilbagesøges, beregnes med renters rente i overensstemmelse med kapitel V i forordning (EF) nr. 794/2004.
No provision of Union law requires the Commission, when ordering the recovery of aid declared incompatible with the internal market, to quantify the exact amount of the aid to be recovered.
Belgien bringer støtten, jf. artikel 1, til ophør og annullerer samtlige betalinger, som endnu ikke er gennemført ifølge den nævnte støtteordning, fra tidspunktet for vedtagelsen af nærværende afgørelse.
Rather, it is sufficient for the Commission's decision to include information enabling the addressee of the decision to work out that amount itself without overmuch difficulty [132].
Belgien afviser enhver anmodning om forhåndsafgørelse indgivet til Service des Décisions Anticipées vedrørende støtten, jf. artikel 1, eller under behandling på tidspunktet for vedtagelsen af nærværende afgørelse.
In relation to unlawful State aid in the form of tax measures, the Notice on business taxation provides in point (35) thereof that the amount to be recovered should be calculated on the basis of a comparison between the tax actually paid and the amount which should have been paid if the generally applicable rule had been applied.
Artikel 3
In order to arrive at an amount of tax which should have been paid if the generally applicable rules would have been complied with, that is, if the Excess profit exemption had not been granted, the Belgium tax administration must reassess the tax liability of the entities benefitting from the contested scheme for each year that they benefitted from that scheme.
Tilbagebetaling af den ydede støtte, jf. artikel 1, skal være øjeblikkelig og effektiv.
The amounts of aid to be recovered from each beneficiary [133] shall take into account:
Belgien sikrer, at denne afgørelse efterkommes fuldt ud senest fire måneder efter meddelelsesdatoen.
the amount of tax saved as a consequence of all rulings delivered to that beneficiary, as well as
Artikel 4
the cumulated interest on that amount calculated as from the moment the aid is granted.
Senest to måneder efter meddelelsen af denne afgørelse sender Belgien Kommissionen følgende oplysninger:
The aid is deemed granted on the day the tax saved would have been due in each tax year in the absence of the ruling.
listen over modtagerne af den i artikel 1 omhandlede støtte og det samlede støttebeløb, de hver især har modtaget
The amount of tax saved in a specific year in respect of a specific ruling shall be calculated as:
det samlede beløb (hovedstol og renter), som hver enkelt støttemodtager skal tilbagebetale
the profit effectively deducted from a positive tax base,
en detaljeret beskrivelse af de foranstaltninger, der allerede er truffet eller er planlagt for at efterkomme afgørelsen
multiplied by the corporate tax rate applicable in the tax year concerned.
dokumentation for, at støttemodtagerne har fået påbud om at tilbagebetale støtten.
In principle, the Excess Profit deduction claimed by the taxpayer in its annual tax return should be taken into account, possibly after correction by the Belgian tax administration in the context of a tax audit, for the purposes of determining the amount of tax saved.
Belgien holder løbende Kommissionen orienteret om de nationale foranstaltninger, der træffes for at efterkomme denne afgørelse, indtil den i artikel 1 omhandlede støtte er fuldt ud tilbagebetalt.
If the deduction to which the beneficiary was entitled in a specific year could not (fully) take place in that year because of an insufficient positive tax base, and if the amount not effectively deducted was carried forward to a subsequent tax year, then the aid shall be deemed attributed in the subsequent year(s) when the amounts of excess profit could effectively be deducted from a positive tax base.
Belgien indsender på Kommissionens anmodning herom straks oplysninger om, hvilke foranstaltninger der allerede er truffet eller planlagt for at efterkomme afgørelsen.
Bearing in mind that recovery should ensure that the tax ultimately due by the beneficiary of the scheme is the tax that would have been due in the absence of the Excess Profit exemption scheme, the methodology described above can be further refined in cooperation with the Belgian authorities during the recovery stage to establish the actual amount of the tax advantage enjoyed by the beneficiaries in the light of their individual situation.
Belgien giver tillige detaljerede oplysninger om de støttebeløb og renter, støttemodtagerne allerede har tilbagebetalt.
The tax that would have been due in the absence of the Excess Profit exemption scheme must be calculated on the basis of the general scheme applicable in Belgium at the time of the granting of the aid and in respect of the actual factual and legal situation of the beneficiary, not in respect of hypothetical alternative situations based on different operational and legal circumstances that the beneficiary could have chosen in the absence of the Excess Profit exemption.
Artikel 5
CONCLUSION
Denne afgørelse er rettet til Kongeriget Belgien.
In conclusion, the Commission finds that Belgium has unlawfully implemented the Excess Profit exemption scheme in breach of Article 108(3) of the Treaty.
Udfærdiget i Bruxelles, den 11. januar 2016.
By virtue of Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 Belgium is required to recover all aid granted to the beneficiaries of the scheme,
EUT C 188 af 5.6.2015, s. 24.
The Excess Profit exemption scheme, based on Article 185(2)(b) of the Belgian Income Tax Code 1992, pursuant to which Belgium granted tax rulings to Belgian entities of multinational corporate groups authorising those entities to exempt part of their profit from corporate income taxation constitutes aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty that is incompatible with the internal market and that was unlawfully put into effect by Belgium in breach of Article 108(3) of the Treaty.
Se punkt 30 i Belgiens bemærkninger af 29. maj 2015 vedrørende indledningsafgørelsen, hvori ordet »uafhængig« er beskrevet som det forhold ikke at være medlem af en multinational koncern af forbundne selskaber.
Belgium shall recover all incompatible and unlawful aid referred to in Article 1 from the recipients of that aid.
Se bl.a. Belgiens bemærkninger af 29. maj 2015 vedrørende indledningsafgørelsen, punkt 39 og 40.
Any sums that remain unrecoverable from the recipients of the aid, following the recovery described in the paragraph 1, shall be recovered from the corporate group to which the recipient belongs.
Se Belgiens bemærkninger af 29. maj 2015 vedrørende indledningsafgørelsen, punkt 30.
The sums to be recovered shall bear interest from the date on which they were put at the disposal of the beneficiaries until their actual recovery.
Se OECD's ordliste til retningslinjerne for koncerninterne afregningspriser: »Deux entreprises sont indépendantes l'une par rapport à l'autre si elles ne sont pas associées.« (to virksomheder er uafhængige af hinanden, hvis de ikke er forbundet).
The interest on the sums to be recovered shall be calculated on a compound basis in accordance with Chapter V of Regulation (EC) No 794/2004.
I visse tilfælde har Kommissionen bemærket, at enheder, der udvælges som sammenlignelige med henblik på en komparativ undersøgelse, ikke er uafhængige virksomheder, som kan anses for sammenlignelige, men holdingselskaber eller moderselskaber, der anses for sammenlignelige, dvs. en koncern udvalgt på grundlag af konsoliderede regnskabsoplysninger.
Belgium shall stop granting the aid referred to in Article 1 and shall cancel all outstanding payments of such aid with effect from the date of adoption of this decision.