natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Prima facie selectivity in the case of tax reduction by one third for holders of an extraction permit (Sections 24a and 24b)
V točki 24 navedenega je ta pristop pojasnjen in poudarjeno je, da progresivno naravo lestvice davka na dohodek ali davka na dobiček upravičuje prerazdelitveni namen davka.
It follows from recital 64 that in order to be considered State aid, a measure must be selective and favour certain undertakings or the production of certain goods.
Danski organi menijo, da določitev zgornje meje za pristojbino na količino 25000 m3 vode smiselno sledi takšni logiki.
Point 128 of the Commission Notice on the notion of State aid as referred to in Article 107(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which replaces the Commission Notice on the application of the State aid rules to measures relating to direct business taxation, establishes the principles following from the case-law of the Court of Justice which state that in order to determine whether a measure constitutes State aid or not under Article 107(1) TFEU, it is necessary to determine the common scheme (the reference system), that afterwards it should be examined whether the measure concerned constitutes a derogation from that scheme by distinguishing among different economic operators which are in a comparable factual and legal situation in light of the scheme's intrinsic objective, and finally that it should be determined whether the derogation is justified by the common scheme's nature and overall structure.
Komisija ne more sprejeti tega stališča.
Furthermore, it follows from the case-law of the Court of Justice that ‘As regards the assessment of the condition of selectivity, which is a constituent factor in the concept of State aid, it is clear from settled case-law that Article 87(1) EC requires assessment of whether, under a particular statutory scheme, a State measure is such as to ‘favour certain undertakings or the production of certain goods’ in comparison with other undertakings which are in a legal and factual situation that is comparable in the light of the objective pursued by the measure in question’.
V obravnavanem primeru namreč z uvedbo zgornje meje za pristojbino za dovoljenja, ki se nanašajo na največje količine vode, ki jih je dovoljeno načrpati, zagotovo ni določena višja davčna lestvica za tiste, ki imajo taka dovoljenja.
In this case, therefore, it must be determined whether the enterprises with extraction permits (primarily active in the agricultural sector) that had the advantage of a tax reduction under Section 24b were in a factual or legal situation comparable to that of enterprises that were connected to a public utility and paid an indirect tax passed on to them by the owners of the public utility which, according to Section 24a, were required to pay the full tax under Section 24.
Nasprotno, ti lahko zaradi zgornje meje plačajo znesek, ki je (znatno) nižji od tistega, ki bi ga morali plačati, če zgornja meja ne bi bila določena.
In the context of the examination procedure the Danish authorities referred specifically to the factual and legal situation by invoking a judgment of the Court of Justice (see recital 24 and the footnote on page 11) that was not mentioned in footnote 23 but which still refers to the same principles as those in the recital named.
Logika prerazdelitve je torej obrnjena, tudi če se razlaga smiselno, saj morajo nazadnje sorazmerno plačati več tisti, ki imajo dovoljenja za črpanje več kot 6000 m3, vendar največ 25000 m3.
Moreover, the Danish authorities argue that the various rates and the tax base (tax on the volume actually consumed which is collected indirectly from the economic operators as regards Section 24a and collected as direct tax on the volume for which a permit was issued, regardless of actual consumption, as regards Section 24b and adjusted by Section 24c), mean that the economic operators that are indirectly taxed under Section 24a are not in a comparable factual and legal situation to those that are directly taxable under Section 24b.
V tem primeru torej ne more iti za progresivno davčno lestvico.
This would imply that there are two distinct tax schemes (one under Section 24a and another under Sections 24b and 24c), and that the relevant reference system for determining whether they entail State aid should be the tax scheme under Section 24b.
Komisija tudi ne more sprejeti sklicevanja danskih organov na točko 27 Obvestila Komisije o uporabi pravil o državni pomoči za ukrepe, ki zadevajo neposredno obdavčitev ustvarjenega dohodka (v skladu s katero je mogoče posebne določbe, ki ne vsebujejo diskrecijskih elementov, upravičiti z naravo in splošno shemo sistema, če na primer upoštevajo specifične računovodske zahteve ali pomen zemljišča v premoženju, kar je značilno za nekatere sektorje, in torej takšne določbe ne predstavljajo državne pomoči), s tem pa tudi ne sklicevanja na zadevo v zvezi s pomočjo N 472/2002 (glej zadnjo alineo uvodne izjave 34).
The Commission notes that the objective of the tax was to collect sufficient revenue for surveys in preparation of management planning for areas that are particularly important to the drinking water supply in Denmark.
Najprej, neobstoj diskrecijskih elementov ne pomeni samodejno neobstoja selektivne obravnave.
All enterprises that consume water ought therefore in principle to be subject to the same payment obligation.
Dalje, Komisija opozarja, da je bil cilj zgornje meje zemljiškega davka, preučenega v zadevi N 472/2002, omejiti vpliv zvišanja vrednosti zemljišč na Danskem, kar se je odražalo v višini obdavčitve za vse gospodarske subjekte v kmetijskem sektorju, medtem ko je lahko v obravnavanem primeru ukrep koristil le del gospodarskih subjektov v kmetijskem sektorju (tisti z dovoljenji za črpanje več kot 25000 m3 vode).
It is therefore the introduction as such of the tax in Section 24 that, in combination with the obligation under Section 24a for enterprises connected to a public utility to pay the full tax, should form the primary reference point for determining whether the scenarios under Sections 24b and 24c entail State aid, regardless of what conclusions are drawn relating to the necessity of applying further reference points for examining any State aid associated with a given scenario.
Komisija ob upoštevanju teh elementov ne more meniti, da so pogoji iz točk 24 in 27 prejšnjega obvestila zadostno izpolnjeni.
Regarding Section 24b, any selectivity needs to be assessed at two levels: firstly in the context of payment of a third of the tax under Section 24b, and secondly in the context of the tax reduction that follows from the ceiling set on a volume of 25000 m3 together with the exemption for permits for a maximum of 6000 m3.
Zato ugotavlja, da zgornja meja za pristojbino iz člena 24b prečiščenega besedila zakona ni utemeljena z naravo in splošno shemo sistema obdavčitve in je zato selektivna.
As already mentioned, in order to qualify as State aid a measure must be selective and favour certain undertakings or the production of certain goods (see recital 64).
Oprostitev pristojbine za dovoljenja za črpanje, ki ne presegajo 6000 m3
As the Danish authorities have stated (see recital 24), it also needs to be considered whether, in light of the measure's objective, the relevant measure entails discrimination between enterprises that are in a comparable factual and legal situation based on the case-law of the Court of Justice.
Kar zadeva popolno oprostitev, odobreno imetnikom dovoljenja za črpanje do 6000 m3 vode na leto, danski organi sami priznavajo, da je ukrep selektiven v tem smislu, da daje prednost posameznim podjetjem.
In that context the Commission particularly points out that according to the information from the Danish authorities, the scheme in Section 24a constitutes taxation of effective consumption, whereas the tax in Section 24b is based on the volume permitted to be extracted (however, the volume of water permitted to be extracted is seldom entirely consumed — see the information in the seventh paragraph of recital 27).
Vendar vztrajajo pri skromnosti zneskov, ki bi morali biti pobrani (glej uvodno izjavo 35), da bi upravičili odstopanje ob upoštevanju dobrega upravljanja sistema.
Likewise, the last paragraph of recital 27 and the second and third paragraphs of recital 28 state that the differences in location (inside or outside the area supplied by a public utility) can necessitate different supply methods, and that the water quality varies depending on the scenario, given that the water that is taxed in the first scenario (Section 24a) is drinking water, whereas the enterprises in the second scenario, which have to pay tax on groundwater with an eye to funding the protection of drinking water (Section 24b), are located side by side with many holdings that are not subject to the tax because they extract surface water and must pay the costs themselves for checking water quality and maintaining water extraction systems, costs which are included in the invoices for the enterprises in the first scenario.
Komisija ugotavlja, da so neplačani zneski upravičencev dejansko skromni, in priznava, da bi pobiranje zelo nizkih zneskov, kot so zneski v obravnavanem primeru, povzročilo upravno breme s sorazmerno visokimi stroški (upravni ukrepi bi bili potrebni za približno 75000 dovoljenj, da bi pobrali posamezni znesek v višini približno 40 EUR na leto (glej uvodni izjavi 19 in 35)).
A measure's selective character should, however, be assessed in light of the objective to be achieved (see recital 68 and footnote 24), which in the present case is to carry out surveys in preparation of management planning for areas that are particularly important to the drinking water supply.
Cilj sistema obdavčitve pa je omogočiti državi, da pobere prihodke, in ne da zapravlja sredstva, na koncu pa ne prejme ničesar ali celo zabeleži izgubo.
It can therefore be determined that, in consideration of the established objective, all enterprises ought to be subject to the same taxation in order for the measure not to be considered as selective (see recital 69).
Poleg tega bi bile zaradi neobstoja obveznosti prijave majhnih dovoljenj potrebne obsežne upravne preiskave, kar bi znova povzročilo precejšnje stroške.
The Commission can therefore only conclude that reducing the tax by two thirds under Section 24b is selective.
Komisija lahko v tem okviru meni, da je popolna oprostitev pristojbine, odobrena za dovoljenja za črpanje količine, ki ne presega 6000 m3 na leto, upravičena z naravo in splošno shemo danskega davčnega sistema ter zato ni selektivna in ne pomeni državne pomoči v smislu člena 107(1) PDEU.
The Danish authorities' other arguments do not call this conclusion into question: specifically, the argument in recital 26 relating to the difference in the number of owners of public water utilities and owners of private water supply systems is not sufficient in and of itself to justify the differences in the legal and factual situation covered by the two tax systems, given that in both cases it is the consumers who pay the tax, either indirectly in the first case because it is passed on in the price, or indirectly [sic] in the other case.
Obstoj državnih sredstev, pripisljivost ter vpliv na trgovino in konkurenco med državami članicami v zvezi z zgornjo mejo za pristojbino, določeno na 25000 m3
The argument that owners of public water utilities are not undertakings because they do not exercise an economic activity (see the third and fourth paragraphs of recital 27) is not applicable either, given that the Danish authorities themselves stress that an economic activity is defined as offering goods or services, and that water extraction and supply are indeed constituted by offering a service, i.e. they constitute an economic activity.
Drugi značilni elementi obstoja državne pomoči, navedeni ob uvedbi formalnega postopka preiskave, ostajajo prisotni v zgornji meji za obdavčitev, določeni na 25000 m3: pomoč se financira iz državnih sredstev, saj se država z določitvijo zgornje meje za obdavčitev na določeno količino vode odreče sredstvom; prednost daje posameznim podjetjem (podjetjem z dovoljenji za črpanje več kot 25000 m3); lahko vpliva na trgovino glede na njihovo število (glej opombo 20) in izkrivlja konkurenco (glej opombo 21), še zlasti ker so lahko upravičenci neplačane zneske iz naslova pristojbine uporabili za druge namene v povezavi s svojo gospodarsko dejavnostjo.
The Danish authorities argue, therefore, that it is not the differences in the factual and legal situation between owners of public water extraction systems and owners of private extraction systems that need to be considered, but rather the differences between enterprises that are connected to a public utility and enterprises active in the same sector that own their own extraction system.
Zaradi teh ugotovitev in zlasti sklicevanja na sodno prakso, navedeno v opombi 21, tudi pripomba danskih organov o dokaznem bremenu (glej uvodno izjavo 39) postane brezpredmetna.
It should therefore be examined whether the measure, despite the selectivity that follows from its application to specific enterprises, confers an economic advantage on those enterprises.
Komisija zaradi celovitosti dodaja, da ne more sprejeti trditve danskih organov, da podjetja v drugih državah članicah niso zavezana enakim dajatvam kot danska podjetja in da je zato težko določiti, kako bi lahko zadnjenavedena pridobila konkurenčno prednost (glej uvodno izjavo 48).
Regarding this, the Commission notes that the enterprises that pay only one third of the tax are taxed on theoretical consumption as indicated in the extraction permit, whereas the enterprises that pay the full tax are taxed on the basis of actual water consumption.
V skladu s sodno prakso Sodišča je treba namreč „pri uporabi člena 92(1) nujno izhajati iz konkurenčnega položaja, ki je na skupnem trgu obstajal pred sprejetjem spornega ukrepa“.
It also points out that according to the Danish authorities, the owners of private systems have only consumed one third (34 % — see recital 34) of the water volumes that are covered by the extraction permit.
V obravnavanem primeru se je torej treba sklicevati na položaj pred uvedbo pristojbine in zgornje meje, ki je bila uvedena sočasno.
In consideration of this fact, the Commission finds that the reduction by two thirds of the tax serves to compensate for the effects of the difference between taxation of actual consumption and taxation on the basis of the volume listed in the extraction permit.
V zvezi s tem je treba ugotoviti, da je bila z uvedbo pristojbine dodeljena prednost v obliki zgornje meje (ki de facto ustreza znižanju pristojbine in ni obstajala pred njeno uvedbo) upravičencem, ki so bili oproščeni plačila zneska, ki so ga lahko uporabili za financiranje svoje dejavnosti, s katero konkurirajo drugim gospodarskim subjektom na trgu.
Without this reduction, moreover, the amount collected would have far exceeded the funding needs in connection with surveys of and management planning for areas that are particularly important to the drinking water supply.
Prav tako v skladu s sodno prakso Pogodba določa podrobnejša pravila za odpravo splošnih izkrivljanj, ki izhajajo iz neskladij med davčnimi sistemi različnih držav članic.
In consideration of this, the Commission concludes that the reduction by two thirds of the tax under Section 24b does not constitute an economic advantage for the enterprises concerned and therefore does not constitute State aid under Article 107(1) TFEU.
Sprememba določenega elementa proizvodnih stroškov v gospodarskem sektorju države članice lahko ogrozi obstoječe ravnovesje (v obravnavanem primeru v korist nekaterih gospodarskih subjektov v primerjavi z drugimi).
It must therefore be determined whether the scenario under Section 24b contains an element of aid in the context of the ceiling for the reduced tax set at a volume of 25000 m3, and in the context of the exemption for permits for a maximum of 6000 m3.
Sodišče je tudi odločilo, da okoliščina, da poskuša država članica z enostranskimi ukrepi konkurenčne pogoje v nekem gospodarskem sektorju približati tistim v drugih državah članicah, tem ukrepom ne more odvzeti značaja pomoči.
Tax ceiling set at 25000 m3
Ker je dokazano, da pri določitvi zgornje meje za pristojbino gre za državno pomoč, je treba preveriti, ali je mogoče to pomoč razglasiti za združljivo z notranjim trgom.
Regarding the existence of State aid in the context of the tax ceiling set at 25000 m3, the Danish authorities cannot invoke the differences in the enterprises' legal and factual situation, given that enterprises with a permit for extracting more than 25000 m2, which have the advantage of the ceiling, are subject to the same reference system as enterprises with a permit for extracting a maximum of 25000 m3 (payment of one third of the tax in Section 24) which are located in the same area.
Združljivost pomoči, ki zajema določitev zgornje meje za pristojbino na 25000 m3, z notranjim trgom
Furthermore, the Danish authorities' argument, that the analysis of the degree to which there is an advantage must take as its basis the enterprises that pay taxes on a volume of no more than 25000 m3, rather than those that hold an extraction permit for more than 25000 m3 but which exclusively pay tax above 25000 m3, cannot be accepted, because recital 18 clearly states that, according to Section 24b, everyone pays one third of the tax in Section 24 as a norm.
V primerih, predvidenih v členu 107(2) in (3) PDEU, se lahko nekateri ukrepi izjemoma štejejo za združljive z notranjim trgom.
Moreover, setting a ceiling at 25000 m3 constitutes a lex specialis, which de facto derogates from the principle of paying one third of the tax (inasmuch as the higher the volume of water permitted to be extracted, the lower the tax will be in relative terms).
V obravnavanem primeru se je mogoče sklicevati le na odstopanje iz člena 107(3)(c) PDEU, v skladu s katerim se lahko za združljivo z notranjim trgom šteje pomoč za pospeševanje razvoja določenih gospodarskih dejavnosti ali določenih gospodarskih območij, kadar takšna pomoč ne spreminja trgovinskih pogojev v obsegu, ki bi bil v nasprotju s skupnimi interesi.
This derogation therefore directly gives rise to selectivity in the scheme, and it confers on enterprises with an extraction permit for more than 25000 m3 an advantage compared to enterprises with an extraction permit for a maximum of 25000 m3 even if all the enterprises subject to Section 24b are in the same factual and legal situation, given that they all have permits to use a private water extraction system and are subject to the same tax before the ceiling is applied.
Za uporabo tega odstopanja je treba zadevno nepriglašeno pomoč, ki se nanaša na okolje v kmetijskem sektorju, preučiti na podlagi pravil, ki so veljala ob njeni dodelitvi, kar v obravnavanem primeru pomeni na podlagi določb Smernic Skupnosti o državni pomoči v kmetijskem in gozdarskem sektorju 2007–2013.
Therefore, more careful consideration should be given to the Danish authorities' argument that the ceiling is justified by the tax scheme's inherent logic.
V točki 62 navedenih smernic je v bistvu navedeno, da bo Komisija ukrepe pomoči, ki niso zajeti z določbami navedenih smernic, preučila na podlagi Smernic o državni pomoči za varstvo okolja (v nadaljnjem besedilu: okoljske smernice).
Currently the relevant case-law is included in the Commission Notice on the notion of State aid as referred to in Article 107(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, but at the time that the aid was granted, the relevant provisions were found in the Commission Notice on the application of the State aid rules to measures relating to direct business taxation (hereinafter referred to as the ‘former Notice’).
V okoljskih smernicah so pomoči v obliki znižanj ali oprostitev okoljskih dajatev, kot so te v obravnavanem primeru, urejene z določbami točk 151, 154 in od 155 do 159.
According to point 23 of the former Notice, the differential nature of some measures does not necessarily mean that they must be considered to be State aid.
V točki 70(14) okoljskih smernic je okoljska dajatev opredeljena kot dajatev, katere posebna davčna osnova ima jasen negativen vpliv na okolje ali ki skuša obdavčiti določene dejavnosti, blago ali storitve, da bi bili okoljski stroški lahko vključeni v njihovo ceno in/ali da bi se proizvajalci in potrošniki usmerili na dejavnosti, ki bolj spoštujejo okolje.
This is explained in more detail in point 24, which states that the progressive nature of an income tax scale or profit tax scale is justified by the redistributive purpose of the tax.
V obravnavanem primeru naložena pristojbina ustreza tej opredelitvi, saj lahko izkoriščanje vodnih virov pomeni okoljsko težavo, če se ne upravlja ustrezno (iz tega razloga so torej prihodki iz pristojbine namenjeni popisu vodnih virov).
The Danish authorities state that establishing the ceiling at 25000 m3 follows this logic.
Poleg tega je treba šteti, da se z določitvijo zgornje meje za pristojbino zniža znesek, ki bi ga bilo običajno treba plačati.
The Commission does not agree with this view.
V točki 151 okoljskih smernic je navedeno, da se bo pomoč v obliki znižanj ali oprostitev okoljskih dajatev štela za združljivo z notranjim trgom, če vsaj posredno prispeva k povečanju stopnje varstva okolja in če znižanja in oprostitve dajatev ne škodujejo zastavljenemu splošnemu cilju.
Introducing a tax ceiling for the largest volumes certainly does not bring about a higher tax rate for those holding permits to extract the largest volumes of water.
Komisija lahko sprejme trditev danskih organov iz uvodne izjave 42, in sicer da naj bi splošni mehanizem pobiranja pristojbine prispeval k izboljšanju ravni varstva okolja s tem, da večje breme pristojbine nosijo največji porabniki pitne vode in se tako spodbudijo k zmanjšanju svoje porabe, vendar meni, da je lahko v omejenem okviru člena 24b prečiščenega besedila zakona (ki je upošteven v tem primeru, saj je v celotnem mehanizmu obdavčitve prav v tem členu edini element pomoči, katerega združljivost z notranjim trgom je treba preučiti) uvedba zgornje meje škodovala splošnemu cilju, zastavljenemu s pristojbino (pridobitev zadostnih prihodkov za financiranje popisa vodnih virov – glej uvodno izjavo 69), saj učinek zgornje meje ni, da se breme pristojbine prenese na največje porabnike vode, ampak, nasprotno, da se imetniki dovoljenj za črpanje največjih količin vode izognejo plačilu (precejšnjega) dela pristojbine.
On the contrary, due to the ceiling they can pay an amount that is lower (even significantly lower) than what they would have paid without the ceiling.
Ker pa so določbe člena 24b prečiščenega besedila samo en element v mehanizmu obdavčitve in ker bi glede na podatke, ki so jih predložili danski organi (glej tretjo alineo uvodne izjave 34), neobstoj zgornje meje povzročil pobiranje najmanj dvakratnika deleža, ki bi ga morala predstavljati pristojbina iz člena 24b prečiščenega besedila zakona pri financiranju predvidenih dejavnosti načrtovanja, lahko Komisija meni, da zgornja meja v pravem pomenu besede, čeprav vsebuje element pomoči, kot je bilo dokazno, ne škoduje splošnemu cilju pristojbine in da so določbe točke 151 okoljskih smernic upoštevane.
The redistributive purpose is more or less turned on its head, even if it is interpreted mutatis mutandis, because it is ultimately those holding extraction permits for more than 6000 m3 and less than 25000 m3 that pay the most proportionately.
V točki 154 okoljskih smernic je v bistvu navedeno, da se pomoč v obliki znižanj ali oprostitev okoljskih dajatev, razen tistih, ki so zajeti z Direktivo Sveta 2003/96/ES, šteje za združljivo z notranjim trgom za obdobje 10 let, če so izpolnjeni pogoji iz točk 155 in 159.
Therefore, in this case there is no progressive tax scale.
Kot je bilo navedeno ob uvedbi formalnega postopka preiskave, merilo desetletnega obdobja v tem primeru ni upoštevno.