natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Kommissionen konkluderede derfor foreløbigt i åbningsafgørelsen, at de pågældende fire sportsklubber opnår en fordel i form af en gunstig skattesats, som ikke kan begrundes i skattesystemets karakter.
That does not exclude their qualification as undertakings according to Article 107(1) of the Treaty.
Den differentierede beskatning mellem dem og andre klubber er en virkning af lov 10/1990, som udpegede et begrænset antal modtagere.
The supported professional sport activities are of a commercial nature [6].
Kommissionen fandt videre, at denne fordel ydes ved hjælp af statsmidler, eftersom staten går glip af muligt skatteprovenu, og at støtte til professionelle fodboldklubber påvirker konkurrencen og samhandelen mellem medlemsstaterne.
Those revenue-generating activities are economic in nature and conducted in fierce competition with the other large European professional football clubs.
Kommissionen konkluderede foreløbig i åbningsafgørelsen, at den finansielle statsstøtte, som gav de professionelle sportsklubber Athletic Club Bilbao, Club Atlético Osasuna (Navarra), FC Barcelona og Real Madrid CF en fordel, sandsynligvis kan påvirke konkurrencen og handelen mellem medlemsstaterne.
The sources of revenue are linked to the teams' success in sport competitions.
Den udgør derfor statsstøtte som omhandlet i traktatens artikel 107, stk. 1.
In turn, that success very much depends on the amount of funds available to clubs to attract or keep the best players and coaches.
Kommissionen var i tvivl om støttens forenelighed med det indre marked.
Tax differentiation may selectively favour the four clubs.
Kommissionen fandt også, at der ikke er vedtaget retningslinjer for forenelighedsbetingelser, som finder anvendelse på den foreliggende sag.
The Commission therefore preliminarily concluded in the opening decision that the four sport clubs in question enjoy an advantage in the form of a preferential tax rate which is not justified by the nature of the tax system.
Vurderingen af forenelighed bør derfor baseres direkte på traktatens artikel 107, stk. 3, litra c), hvorefter støtte kan anses for at være forenelig med det indre marked, hvis den i den fælles interesse fremmer udviklingen af visse økonomiske aktiviteter eller områder.
The tax differentiation between them and other clubs is an effect which is caused by Law 10/1990, which singled out a limited number of beneficiaries.
Kommissionen tvivlede på, at der var et mål af fælles interesse, som kunne begrunde en selektiv driftsstøtte til enkelte meget stærke aktører i en yderst konkurrencepræget økonomisk sektor.
The Commission furthermore found that that advantage derives from State resources, as the State forgoes possible tax revenues and that aid to professional football clubs has an effect on competition and trade between Member States.
Kommissionen fastslog følgelig i åbningsafgørelsen, at Spanien gennem det system, der blev indført ved lov 10/1990, yder driftsstøtte i form af en gunstig skattesats til de fire sportsklubber Athletic Club Bilbao, Club Atlético Osasuna (Navarra), FC Barcelona og Real Madrid CF, som ikke kan begrundes efter traktatens artikel 107, stk. 3, litra c).
The Commission preliminarily concluded in the opening decision that the financial State support providing an advantage to the professional sport clubs Athletic Club Bilbao, Club Atlético Osasuna (Navarra), FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF will, in all likelihood, have the potential to distort competition and affect trade.
Kommissionen opfordrede Spanien og interesserede parter til at indgive bemærkninger.
Thereby it constitutes State aid in the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty.
BEMÆRKNINGER FRA INTERESSEREDE PARTER
The Commission expressed doubts regarding the compatibility of the aid with the internal market.
Efter offentliggørelsen af åbningsafgørelsen modtog Kommissionen bemærkninger fra Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona, Athletic Club Bilbao og Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, fra en borger og fra organisationer, der ønskede at få deres navne hemmeligholdt.
It also found that no guidelines on compatibility criteria seem to be applicable to the present case.
ALMINDELIGE BEMÆRKNINGER
Therefore, compatibility should be assessed directly under Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty, according to which aid may be considered compatible with the internal market if it facilitates, in the common interest, the development of certain economic activities or of certain economic areas.
Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional henviser til den særlige status for sport i traktatens artikel 165.
The Commission doubted that there would be an objective of common interest which could justify selective operating support to very strong actors in a highly competitive economic sector.
Den hævder, at lov 10/1990 blot havde til formål at indføre en frivillig ordning vedrørende klubbers sociale ansvar.
Accordingly, the Commission considered in the opening decision that by means of the scheme introduced by Law 10/1990, Spain grants individual operating aid through a preferential tax rate to four sport clubs Athletic Club Bilbao, Club Atlético Osasuna (Navarra), FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF which cannot be justified under Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty.
Ligaen finder derfor, at lovændringen ikke havde et skattemæssigt formål.
The Commission invited Spain and interested parties to provide comments.
De skattemæssige konsekvenser ville være en indirekte virkning af andre mål.
COMMENTS FROM INTERESTED PARTIES
Athletic Club Bilbao fremhæver, at Territorio Histórico de Bizkaia i Baskerlandet har skattemæssig uafhængighed med hensyn til selskabsbeskatning, hvilket Retten har anerkendt [7].
Following the publication of the opening decision, the Commission received observations from Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona, Athletic Club Bilbao, the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, from a citizen and from organisations desiring that their identity is treated as confidential.
Den territoriale referenceramme, når det fastslås, om Athletic Club Bilbao opnår en selektiv fordel, bør derfor være Territorio Histórico de Bizkaia.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
Selv om sportsloven finder national anvendelse, indeholder den ingen regler om beskatning.
The Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional refers to the special status of sport under Article 165 of the Treaty.
I henhold til traktaten om Den Europæiske Union skal Unionen imidlertid respektere regionale og lokale selvstyringsstrukturer i medlemsstaterne.
It claims that Law 10/1990 simply wanted to introduce a voluntary system of social responsibility for clubs.
I Territorio Histórico de Bizkaia findes der ingen sportsselskaber.
The Liga maintains that therefore the reform had not a fiscal objective.
Ifølge klubben kan der følgelig ikke være tale om selektiv behandling af sportsorganisationer i denne region.
The fiscal consequences would be an indirect effect of other objectives pursued.
Athletic Club Bilbao bør blot anses for selskabsskattepligtig i henhold til den almindelige ordning, som finder anvendelse i Territorio Histórico de Bizkaia for alle nonprofitorganisationer.
Athletic Club Bilbao points to the tax autonomy of the Territorio Histórico de Bizkaia in the Basque Country with regard to corporate taxation, which was acknowledged by the General Court [7].
OM BEGRUNDELSEN FOR FORSKELLIGE SELSKABSSKATTESATSER
The territorial reference frame for the determination whether Athletic Club Bilbao enjoys a selective advantage would therefore be the Territorio Histórico de Bizkaia.
Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona og Athletic Club Bilbao er af den opfattelse, at differentieret selskabsbeskatning er begrundet i skattens karakter.
Although the sport law is of national application, it does not contain rules on taxes.
Den ville derfor ikke medføre en selektiv fordel.
Under the Treaty on European Union, the Union would however be bound to respect the regional and local self-government structures of the Member States.
Sportsklubber ville blive beskattet på samme måde og efter de samme regler som andre nonprofitorganisationer.
In the Territorio Histórico de Bizkaia there would be no sport limited companies.
Den almindelige ordning, som finder anvendelse på nonprofitorganisationer, kunne ikke anses for en undtagelse til den skatteordning, der finder anvendelse på selskaber.
Therefore, according to the club, there cannot be any selective treatment of sport entities in that region.
Det ville være en særskilt almindelig ordning i sig selv, som fandt anvendelse på alle spanske nonprofitorganisationer uanset sektor, størrelse og region.
Athletic Club Bilbao should be seen simply as subject to the general corporate tax regime applicable in the Territorio Histórico de Bizkaia for all non-profit entities.
Særskilte bestemmelser ville begrænse nonprofitorganisationers aktiviteter på markedet og begrænse deres evne til at generere samme overskud som virksomheder, der arbejder med gevinst for øje.
ON THE JUSTIFICATION FOR DIFFERENT CORPORATE TAX RATES
Det væsentligste motiv for virksomheder, der arbejder med gevinst for øje, til at opnå gevinst ville være at generere overskud til udlodning med henblik på at sikre deres aktionærer et passende investeringsafkast.
The Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona and Athletic Club Bilbao consider the corporate tax differentiation justified by the nature of the tax; therefore it would not entail selective advantage.
Real Madrid CF henviser til Domstolens dom i sagen Kennemer Golf [8], som i præmis 26, 31 og 35 fastslår, at en nonprofitorganisation ikke må have til formål at opnå gevinst til sine medlemmer.
Sport clubs would be taxed in the same way and subject to the same rules as other non-profit entities.
Real Madrid CF og Athletic Club Bilbao hævder, at deres overskud — selv om et organ kan anses for en nonprofitorganisation, selv om det systematisk tilstræber at skabe overskud — er blevet anvendt til udførelse af deres tjenesteydelser.
The general regime applicable to non-profit entities could not be considered as an exception to the tax regime applicable to companies.
De understreger det forhold, at en sportsklubs overskud ikke må fordeles mellem dens medlemmer.
It would be a distinct, general regime in its own right, applicable to all Spanish non-profit entities irrespective of the sector, the size and the region.
Sportsklubber og sportsselskaber befinder sig følgelig ikke i en sammenlignelig faktisk og retlig situation.
The different legal regime would limit the market activity of non-profit associations and curb their ability to generate the same profits as for-profit companies.
En mulig forskel i beskatningen ville under alle omstændigheder være begrundet i det spanske skattesystems karakter eller overordnede opbygning.
For-profit companies' essential motive for obtaining profits would be to generate distributable funds so as to be able to offer an adequate return on investment for its shareholders.
Ifølge Real Madrid CF ville målet om at opnå overskud derfor ikke være et tilstrækkeligt fælles referencegrundlag.
Real Madrid CF refers to the Court of Justice judgment in Kennemer Golf [8], which states in paragraphs 26, 31 and 35 that a non-profit organisation must not have the aim of achieving profits for its members.
Referencen bør i stedet være at opnå overskud, som kan fordeles, hvilket ikke er muligt for klubber.
Real Madrid CF and Athletic Club Bilbao argue that, although the systematic pursuit of profits would not prevent a categorisation of an entity as non-profit organisation, these profits have to be used for the purposes of the provision of its services.
Det er Real Madrids opfattelse, at klubber deler visse karakteristika med andelsselskaber, og henviser til Domstolens argumenter i Paint Graphos-dommen [9].
They put emphasis on the fact that the profit of a sport club must not be distributed to its members.
Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona og Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional understreger, at de regler om ansvar, som gælder for sportsklubbers ledelse, er meget strengere end de regler, der gælder for sportsselskaber.
Consequently, sport clubs and sport limited companies would not be in a comparable factual and legal situation.
Bestyrelsen skal stille en bankgaranti, der dækker 15 % af klubbens budgetterede udgifter, som garanti for underskud i dens embedsperiode.
In any case, a possible difference in taxation would be justified by the nature or general structure of the Spanish fiscal system.
Bestyrelsesmedlemmerne hæfter desuden objektivt og ubegrænset med deres nuværende og fremtidige personlige aktiver for ethvert underskud, som overstiger denne garanti.
According to Real Madrid CF it would therefore not be sufficient as common reference base to have the objective to make a profit.
Sportsklubber er desuden underlagt strengt tilsyn og streng kontrol af deres kommercielle adfærd, navnlig med hensyn til optagelse af lån, af et offentligt organ, »Consejo Superior de Deportes«.
The reference should instead be to make a profit which can be distributed, something which is not possible for clubs.
Athletic Club Bilbao og Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional gør gældende, at klubber ikke har de samme midler som selskaber med hensyn til adgang til kapitalmarkedet.
Real Madrid finds that clubs share the same characteristics with cooperatives and refers to the arguments set out in the Paint Graphos judgment of the Court of Justice [9].
De kan f.eks. ikke øge deres kapital ved at udstede nye aktier.
Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona and the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional underline that the liability regime imposed on the management body of sport clubs is much stricter than for sport limited companies.
Der kan desuden ikke foretages skattemæssig konsolidering mellem en klub og dens kontrollerede selskaber, eftersom de er underlagt forskellige skattesatser.
The management board must provide a bank guarantee covering 15 % of the club's budgeted spending in order to guarantee any losses generated during its term.
Overskud og underskud kan følgelig ikke udlignes mellem klubben og disse selskaber, hvilket adskiller sig fra selskabers mulighed for skattemæssigt at konsolidere deres kontrollerede datterselskaber.
In addition, management board members will be strictly liable, in an unlimited manner, with their present and future personal assets, for any losses generated that exceed this guaranteed amount.
FC Barcelona bemærker, at klubberne derfor befinder sig en åbenlyst ufordelagtig position sammenlignet med resten af Europa, hvor investorer kan indskyde store beløb i sportsklubber.
Moreover, sport clubs are subject to a strict supervision and control of their commercial behaviour, in particular with regard to taking loans, by a public body, the Spanish High Council for Sports (‘Consejo Superior de Deportes’).
Med hensyn til den mulige fordel, der følger af forskellige skattesatser, hævder Real Madrid CF, at fastsættelsen af en lavere skattesats for driftsindtægter, der opnås af klubber som nonprofitorganisationer, ikke i sig selv kan anses for en mere fordelagtig selektiv foranstaltning, som udgør statsstøtte.
Athletic Club Bilbao and the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional argue that clubs do not have the means which limited companies have as regards access to the capital market.
Betydelige forskelle mellem ordningerne for selskabsbeskatning af klubber og selskaber ville være ugunstige for klubber og ville opveje virkningerne af den lidt lavere skattesats, som gælder for dem.
In particular, they cannot increase their capital by the emission of new shares.
Real Madrid CF henviser til det forhold, at et fradrag for geninvesteringen af ekstraordinær fortjeneste eller kapitalgevinst af egenkapitaloverførsler er højere for sportsselskaber (12 %) end for sportsklubber (7 %).
Furthermore, there would be no fiscal consolidation between a club and its controlled companies, given that different tax rates are applicable.
Afhængigt af omstændighederne kan dette fradrag være særdeles betydeligt.
Consequently, profits and losses between the club and these companies cannot be set off, by contrast to the possibility for limited companies to fiscally consolidate their controlled subsidiaries.
Real Madrid CF fremlagde klubbens skatteopgørelse vedrørende selskabsskat for perioden fra juli 2000 til den 30. juni 2013, som klubbens skatterådgivere har udarbejdet.
FC Barcelona observes that the clubs find themselves therefore in a manifestly disadvantaged position compared to the rest of Europe, where investors may inject large amounts of money into sport clubs.
Ifølge denne opgørelse har skattebehandlingen af Real Madrid CF som nonprofitorganisation været væsentligt mere ufordelagtig end en hypotetisk kontrafaktisk behandling efter den almindelige ordning for selskaber.
Regarding the possible advantage deriving from the different taxation rates, Real Madrid CF claims that establishing a lower tax rate on operating income for clubs, as non-profit entities, cannot in itself constitute a more favourable selective measure amounting to State aid.
Real Madrid CF anfører, at […] [10].
Substantial differences between the fiscal regimes for corporate taxation of clubs and limited companies would be unfavourable towards clubs and counterbalance the effects of the slightly lower tax rate applied to them.
Athletic Club Bilbao understreger […].
Real Madrid CF refers to the fact that a deduction for the reinvestment of extraordinary profit or capital gains received from equity transfers is higher for sport limited companies (12 %) than for sport clubs (7 %).
OM TILSTEDEVÆRELSEN AF NY STØTTE
Depending on the circumstances, this deduction may sometimes be very significant.
Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona og Athletic Club Bilbao gør gældende, at den påståede støtte i givet fald skal anses for eksisterende støtte.
Real Madrid CF provided a taxation report on the club, in relation to Corporate Tax for the period between July 2000 and 30 June 2013, drawn up by its tax advisors.
Den særlige skattesats for nonprofitorganisationer blev indført inden Spaniens tiltrædelse til Den Europæiske Union den 1. januar 1986 og er ikke siden blevet ændret væsentligt.
That report demonstrates that for Real Madrid CF, during the period investigated, its fiscal regime as a non-profit entity has been significantly more disadvantageous than a hypothetical counterfactual application of the general regime for companies.
Lov 61/1978 af 27. december 1978 om selskabsskat (»Ley 61/1978, de 27 de diciembre, del Impuesto sobre Sociedades«) omhandlede en delvis fritagelse og en lavere skattesats for indtægter af økonomiske aktiviteter, som gennemføres af nonprofitorganisationer, som f.eks. fodboldklubber.
Real Madrid CF submits […] [10].
FC Barcelona bemærker, at lov 10/1990 ikke i sig selv fastlægger en ny statsstøtteforanstaltning.
Athletic Club Bilbao underlines […].
Den udelukker tværtimod de fleste klubber fra den gunstige ordning.
ON THE PRESENCE OF NEW AID
Det kunne således hævdes, at den ikke indførte denne fordel for de fire klubber, men reducerede antallet af modtagere.
Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona and Athletic Club Bilbao claim that the alleged aid, if present, would need to be considered existing aid.
Dette ville ikke være ny støtte, men en efterfølgende ændring, der har til formål at sikre mindre fordrejning af konkurrencen sammenlignet med tidligere.
The special tax rate for non-profit organisations was introduced before Spain's accession to the European Union on 1 January 1986, and has not substantially changed since then.
Athletic Club Bilbao gør gældende, at lov 10/1990 slet ikke ændrede situationen for klubben, som blot fortsat blev selskabsbeskattet som en nonprofitorganisation.
Law 61/1978, of 27 December, on Corporate Tax (‘Ley 61/1978, de 27 de diciembre, del Impuesto sobre Sociedades’) contemplated a partial exemption and a lower tax rate for income obtained from economic operations carried out by non-profit associations, such as football clubs.
BEMÆRKNINGER FRA SPANIEN
FC Barcelona observes that Law 10/1990 would itself not create a new State aid measure.
Spaniens bemærkninger omfatter bemærkningerne fra provinsregeringen i Bizkaia (Diputación Foral de Bizkaia) i Baskerlandet og provinsen Navarra (Comunidad Foral de Navarra).
On the contrary, it would take out most of the clubs from the preferential system.
Spanien bekræfter, at lov 10/1990 bestemmer, at klubber, der deltager i professionelle turneringer, omdannes til sportsselskaber.
One could thus argue that it did not introduce this advantage for the four clubs but reduced the number of beneficiaries.
Spanien understreger, at reglerne for beskatning af nonprofitorganisationer ikke kun gælder for fodboldklubber, men for alle nonprofitorganisationer.
This would not be new aid but a successive modification intended to reach a lower distortion of competition, compared with the previous situation.
Alle disse organisationer skal i henhold til loven betale en selskabsskat på 25 % af fortjeneste, som de opnår i forbindelse med aktiviteter af kommerciel karakter.
Athletic Club Bilbao argues that Law 10/1990 did not change at all the situation of the club which simply continued to be subject to the corporate tax regime for non-profit organisations.
Indtægter fra professionel sport er derfor skattepligtige.
COMMENTS FROM SPAIN
Behandlingen af sportsklubberne er derfor en generel foranstaltning, som gælder for alle nonprofitorganisationer.
The observations of Spain include those contributed by the provincial government of Bizkaia (Diputación Foral de Bizkaia) in the Basque Country and the Community of Navarra (Comunidad Foral de Navarra).
FORSKELLIG BESKATNING AF SPORTSKLUBBER OG SPORTSSELSKABER
Spain confirms that Law 10/1990 requires clubs participating in professional competitions to convert to sport limited companies.
Den 9. februar 2015 underrettede Spanien Kommissionen om en ændring af selskabsskattereglerne ved lov 27/2014 af 27. november 2014 om selskabsbeskatning (del Impuesto sobre Sociedades) [11], hvorefter den almindelige selskabsskattesats på 30 % sænkes til 28 % for 2015 og til 25 % fra og med 2016.
It underlines that the fiscal rules on the taxation of non-profit organisations do not only extend to football clubs but to all non-profit entities.
Spanien understreger, at skattedifferentieringen ikke medfører en fordel, fordi klubber i realiteten ikke betaler færre skatter.
For all these entities, the law provides that they have to pay corporate tax of 25 % for profits they realise in the pursuit of activities of commercial character.
Selskaber kan imidlertid konsolidere overskuddene fra de forskellige selskaber i deres koncern.
The treatment of the sport clubs would thus be a general measure, applicable to all non-profit entities.
Spanien illustrerer med data om den reelle selskabsskattesats, som selskabsbeskattede enheder betalte i årene 2008-2011, at fordelen ikke er lige så stor som forskellen på 5 procentpoint i skattesatsen antyder [12]:
THE DIFFERENT TAXATION OF SPORT CLUBS AND SPORT LIMITED COMPANIES
Skatteår
On 9 February 2015, Spain informed the Commission about an amendment of the corporate tax rules by Law 27/2014 of 27 November 2014 on the taxation of companies (del Impuesto sobre Sociedades) [11] by which the general corporate income tax rate of 30 % will be reduced to 28 % for 2015 and to 25 % from 2016 onwards.
Nonprofitorganisationer (%)
This means that limited sport companies will, from 2016, also be submitted to a 25 % corporate tax rate.
Organisationer underlagt det almindelige skattesystem (%)
From 2016, according to Spain, there will not anymore be a different taxation between clubs and sport limited companies.
Spanien, og navnlig provinsregeringen i Bizkaia og provinsen Navarra, henviser til punkt 25 i Kommissionens om anvendelsen af statsstøttereglerne på foranstaltninger vedrørende direkte beskatning af virksomhederne [13], hvorefter forskelsbehandling kan være begrundet i skattesystemets karakter og overordnede opbygning.
Spain underlines the tax differentiation does not lead to an advantage because clubs do, in effect, not pay fewer taxes.