natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
The public system is required to supply clean drinking water, whereas the amounts of pesticides, nitrates and bacteria in the water from private systems often exceeds the maximum limits, and holders of private permits therefore often have to invest DKK 10000-50000 to meet the legal requirements for drinking water.
Če bi Komisija trdila, da določbe člena 24a prečiščenega besedila zakona pomenijo običajno shemo obdavčitve ter da ukrepi iz členov 24b in 24c istega zakona pomenijo selektivne izjeme, se lahko te izjeme upravičijo z naravo ali splošno shemo danskega davčnega sistema.
The Danish authorities argue that the Danish tax scheme does not distinguish between enterprises in different sectors that are in the same situation, but does distinguish between enterprises that own a water extraction system and those that do not.
Danski organi v zvezi s tem trdijo, da je nižja pristojbina, ki jo plačujejo gospodarski subjekti, ki niso lastniki splošnih naprav za oskrbo z vodo, med drugim upravičena z dejstvom, da morajo kmetje in drugi lastniki zasebnih naprav za oskrbo z vodo sami financirati stroške črpanja vode in se nimajo pravice priključiti na splošno napravo, če so zunaj območja, ki ga oskrbujejo navedene naprave.
The Danish tax scheme does not distinguish between potentially substitutable processes or products placed on a competitive market, given that the extracted water is not subsequently placed on the market.
Ob tem dodajajo, da je namen pristojbine financirati zaščito in ohranjanje virov pitne vode in ne omogočiti kmetom, da svoje posevke namakajo s pitno vodo.
The fact that primary producers, because of their location, cannot freely choose between private extraction and connection to a public utility also means that there is no potentially competitive environment or possibility of substitution between groundwater extracted for irrigation and drinking water supplied by the public utility to enterprises and citizens.
Po mnenju danskih organov ti argumenti zadostujejo za utemeljitev razlikovanja, ki izhaja iz sheme obdavčitve ter temelji na več dejanskih in pravnih razlikah, ki so v skladu s ciljem sheme.
In the view of the Danish authorities, it can therefore be concluded that the tax imposed on owners of public utilities did not confer a selective advantage on the enterprises entitled to extract their own water inasmuch as, in consideration of the tax's intended objective (protecting drinking water), there were no other enterprises or holdings that were in a comparable factual or legal situation or that were discriminated against.
Kar zadeva znižanje pristojbine in zgornjo mejo 25000 m3, določeno v členu 24b prečiščenega besedila zakona, danski organi navajajo več argumentov:
As regards the relationship between the enterprises that are taxable under Section 24b and those that are exempted from the tax under Section 24c, the Danish authorities recognise that those enterprises that are engaged in an economic activity and that have benefited from a tax exemption have enjoyed a competitive advantage as compared to their competitors that paid tax under Section 24b.
ta ukrep je veljal za vsa podjetja, ne glede na njihovo velikost, lokacijo in zadevni sektor,
However, they argue that this selectivity only applies with regard to those competitors and not with regard to enterprises that were directly taxed under Section 24a nor with regard to enterprises that were indirectly taxed via their water bills from a public utility and that were not in a comparable situation.
znižanje je bilo določeno na dve tretjini zneska pristojbine na podlagi ocen, opravljenih ob uvedbi pristojbine, iz katerih je izhajalo, da bo dejansko porabljena tretjina količin, vpisanih v dovoljenja za črpanje; te ocene so bile potrjene s podatki, zbranimi po začetku veljavnosti pristojbine, ki so pokazali, da so kmetijska podjetja v sektorju primarne proizvodnje v obdobju 2009–2011 porabila 34 % količin vode, vpisanih v dovoljenja za črpanje (kar zadeva podjetja, ki se ukvarjajo s predelavo in trženjem kmetijskih proizvodov, je stopnja izkoriščenosti dovoljenj v istem obdobju dosegla 48 %, ker pa je več kot 90 % dovoljenj izdanih kmetijskih podjetjem v sektorju primarne proizvodnje, je bilo odločeno, da se zaradi upravne obvladljivosti sistema za vse upravičence upošteva 34-odstotna stopnja izkoriščenosti),
Justification by the nature and inherent logic of the tax system
če zgornja meja ne bi bila uvedena, bi pristojbina iz člena 24b prečiščenega besedila zakona prinesla 60 milijonov DKK, kar je več kot dvakratnik zneska, predvidenega za financiranje predvidenih dejavnosti načrtovanja, breme pristojbine pa bi bilo manj ustrezno porazdeljeno med kmeti (med 80 EUR in 335 EUR za plačilo z zgornjo mejo in med 40 EUR in 35000 EUR brez zgornje meje); poleg tega, če bi kmetijska podjetja morala plačati polno pristojbino namesto ene tretjine, bi skupni prihodki samo iz primarne proizvodnje znašali 138 milijonov DKK,
If the Commission continues to maintain that the tax as it was applied favours certain undertakings despite the legal and factual differences, the Danish authorities are of the opinion that the derogations in the tax system can be justified by the tax system's nature and general scheme, and that the tax scheme therefore does not constitute State aid, even though they again recognise that there was discrimination between the enterprises that were taxed under Section 24b and those that were exempted under Section 24c.
zgornja meja omogoča ohranjanje določene stopnje enakosti med podjetji, ki uporabljajo površinsko vodo (brez pristojbine), in tistimi, ki uporabljajo podzemno vodo,
If the Commission maintains that the provisions of Section 24a are to be seen as the normal tax scheme, and that the measures laid down in Sections 24b and 24c constitute selective derogations, these derogations can be justified by the tax system's nature or inherent logic.
ker se pristojbina izračuna na podlagi količine, ki jo je dovoljeno načrpati, in ne od dejanske porabe, bi morala nekatera podjetja, če ne bi obstajala zgornja meja, plačati nesorazmerne zneske,
In that context the Danish authorities state that the reduced tax paid by those other than owners of public water utilities can be justified not least by the fact that farmers and other owners of private water extraction systems must cover the costs connected to water extraction themselves and are not entitled to connect to a public utility if they are located outside the utility's supply area.
zgornja meja omogoča uvedbo fiksnega zneska za plačilo za podjetja, ki imajo dovoljenja za več kot 25000 m3 in predstavljajo 61 % kmetijskih gospodarstev, prednost pa se dejansko nanaša na 39 % podjetij, ki imajo dovoljenja za črpanje manj kot 25000 m3 in ki so plačala le del te pavšalne pristojbine, pri čemer prednost znaša največ približno 250 EUR na leto, kar je znesek, ki je precej pod pragom de minimis,
They add that the objective of the tax is to fund efforts to protect and preserve drinking water resources and not to allow farmers to water their crops with drinking water.
z zgornjo mejo je mogoče ublažiti učinke naravnih razmer na podjetja, ki proizvajajo iste proizvode (npr. podnebnih dejavnikov, ki vplivajo na potrebe po namakanju in se razlikujejo od enega do drugega območja),
In the Danish authorities' view, this is sufficient to justify the discrimination that follows from the tax scheme and which rests on a series of factual and legal differences that comply with the scheme's objective.
v obravnavanem primeru voda predstavlja proizvodni dejavnik in ne proizvod sam po sebi; Komisija je v zadevi N 472/02 o stalni zgornji meji „promila“ zemljiškega davka ugotovila, da je bila določena zgornja meja upravičena z logiko davčnega sistema, predvsem zaradi ključne vloge zemlje kot dejavnika kmetijske proizvodnje,
With regard to the tax reduction and the ceiling of 25000 m3 on the calculation base in Section 24b, the Danish authorities state the following:
zgornja meja ni niti materialno niti regionalno selektivna, ker se je uporabljala za podjetja v vseh sektorjih, ne glede na njihovo velikost ali porabo vode, ni bila odvisna od nobenega merila (vključno z geografskim), zaradi katerega bi bilo katero koli podjetje izključeno, in organi niso imeli diskrecijske pravice, na podlagi katere bi lahko odstopali od pravil za izračun pristojbine (v zvezi s tem se sklicujejo na odločbi Komisije v zadevah N 159/2009 in N 480/2007),
this measure applied to all enterprises, regardless of size, location or sector,
če bi Komisija kljub vsemu menila, da je zgornja meja selektivna, je ta utemeljena z logiko danskega davčnega sistema, saj približno 61 % imetnikov zasebnih dovoljenj za črpanje vode plačuje najvišjo pristojbino iz člena 24b prečiščenega besedila zakona in je torej treba plačevanje tega najvišjega zneska šteti za normo; cilj pristojbine je bil ustvariti prihodke za financiranje ukrepov občin za zaščito vode, uvedba zgornje meje pa je bila namenjena preprečitvi nerazumnega finančnega bremena v sektorju, hkrati pa zagotoviti pravično porazdelitev tega bremena med gospodarskimi subjekti, ki se ukvarjajo z enako proizvodnjo, vendar na njihove potrebe po vodi vplivajo naravni dejavniki (stanje tal, količina padavin),
the tax was reduced by two thirds on the basis of assumptions made at the time of introducing the scheme that effectively one third of the volume that was permitted to be extracted would be used.
zgornjo mejo je mogoče utemeljiti na podlagi določb iz Obvestila Komisije o uporabi pravil o državni pomoči za ukrepe, ki zadevajo neposredno obdavčitev ustvarjenega dohodka, saj sledi prerazdelitvenemu namenu davka (točka 24 Obvestila Komisije), ne pušča prostora nikakršni diskrecijski pravici in je povezana s posebno pomembnim dejavnikom v procesu proizvodnje (točka 27 Obvestila Komisije), vse te okoliščine pa omogočajo ugotovitev, da je upravičena zaradi narave in splošne sheme davčnega sistema; danski organi se v zvezi s tem znova sklicujejo na odločbo Komisije v zadevi N 472/02 in poudarjajo pomen vode kot proizvodnega dejavnika.
These assumptions have since been supported by data collected after the tax was introduced and showing that in the period 2009-2011 agricultural holdings in the primary sector had a utilisation rate of 34 % (enterprises engaged in the processing and marketing of agricultural products had a utilisation rate of 48 % in the same period, but since agricultural holdings in the primary sector account for more than 90 % of the permits issued, it was decided to apply the rate of 34 % for all beneficiaries in the interests of good administrative management of the system),
Kar zadeva oprostitev iz člena 24c prečiščenega besedila zakona in diskriminacijo med podjetji v istem sektorju, poudarjeno v sklepu o začetku formalne preiskave, danski organi trdijo, da je zaradi splošne sheme davčnega sistema logično, da so bili številni imetniki dovoljenj za črpanje majhnih količin vode oproščeni pristojbine glede na skromne prihodke, ki bi lahko bili ustvarjeni s pristojbino, in majhno obremenitev vodnih virov zaradi črpanja.
if the ceiling had not been introduced, the tax in Section 24b would have yielded DKK 60 million — more than double the amount that the tax in this paragraph was intended to generate in order to fund management planning — and the tax would have been less well distributed among farmers (ranging from EUR 80 to EUR 335 with the ceiling and from EUR 40 to EUR 35000 without the ceiling).
Prav tako se majhna dovoljenja (ki se nanašajo na količino do 6000 m3) razlikujejo od drugih v tem, da njihova dodelitev ne vključuje obveznosti poročanja, kar pomeni, da ne obstaja register dovoljenj, ki bi ga lahko danski davčni organi uporabili.
the ceiling makes it possible to maintain a certain degree of equal treatment between those enterprises that use surface water (free of tax) and those that use groundwater,
Dodajajo, da če bi Komisija še vedno menila, da shema obdavčitve iz člena 24a prečiščenega besedila zakona pomeni sistem, ki ga je treba upoštevati kot referenčni sistem, v njem nikakor ni diskriminacije, če se upoštevajo opisane razlike v dejanskih in pravnih okoliščinah.
given that the tax is calculated on the basis of the volume that is permitted to be extracted, and not on effective consumption, some enterprises would have paid a disproportionately high amount without the ceiling,
Izkrivljanje konkurence in vpliv na trgovino
the ceiling makes it possible to impose a fixed amount to be paid by enterprises with permits for extracting more than 25000 m3 (61 % of agricultural holdings).
Danski organi v svojih dopisih, poslanih z elektronsko pošto z dne 12. junija 2012 in 7. novembra 2013, ti vprašanji obravnavajo z dveh vidikov: najprej s primerjavo med shemo obdavčitve iz člena 24a prečiščenega besedila zakona na eni strani in shemama obdavčitve iz členov 24b in 24c na drugi strani; nato s primerjavo med shemo obdavčitve iz člena 24b na eni strani in shemo obdavčitve, uvedeno s členom 24c, na drugi strani.
This means that the advantage affects only the 39 % of enterprises holding permits for extracting less than 25000 m3 that have only paid part of the standard tax, and for which the advantage amounts to no more than EUR 250 per year — much less than the de minimis threshold,
Danski organi v zvezi s prvo primerjavo poudarjajo, da nacionalni ukrep, ki ne izpolnjuje merila selektivnosti, tudi ne more izkrivljati konkurence niti vplivati na trgovino med državami članicami.
the ceiling makes it possible to reduce the effect that natural conditions have on enterprises that produce the same products (for instance, weather conditions that have a different effect on the need for irrigation from one area to the next),
Ker menijo, da so dokazali, da z znižanjem ali oprostitvijo pristojbine upravičencem ni dana nobena prednost v primerjavi z drugimi podjetji, ki bi bila v enakem pravnem ali dejanskem položaju, ne more biti govora o izkrivljanju konkurence v smislu člena 107(1) PDEU.
in the present case, water constitutes a production factor and is not itself a product.
Kar zadeva drugo primerjavo, danski organi priznavajo, da so upravičenci do oprostitve pridobili prednost pred drugimi podjetji, vendar poudarjajo, da je vrednost te oprostitve tako majhna, da ni nikakor vplivala na pogoje konkurence na notranjem trgu, kar dokazuje dejstvo, da se ni nobeno podjetje pritožilo.
The Commission concluded in case N 472/2002 on a permanent ceiling on land taxes that the ceiling was justified by the tax system's inherent logic — specifically on the basis of the land's key significance as a production factor in the agricultural sector,
Poleg tega menijo, da je Komisija tista, ki mora dokazati, da ukrep pomoči lahko izkrivlja konkurenco.
the ceiling is neither materially nor regionally selective, given that it was applied to all undertakings in all sectors regardless of their size or water consumption, it did not depend on specific criteria (such as geographic criteria) that could exclude certain undertakings, and the authorities did not have discretionary powers to derogate from the rules for calculating the tax (see in this context the Commission's decisions in cases N 159/2009 and N 480/2007),
Za ponazoritev neznatnosti oprostitve navajajo, da je podjetje, ki je bilo oproščeno za največjo količino (6000 m3), prejelo pomoč v višini 610 DKK (približno 81 EUR) leta 2009, 630 DKK (približno 84 EUR) leta 2010 in 620 DKK (približno 83 EUR) leta 2011 v primerjavi s tistimi, ki so pridobila znižanje na podlagi člena 24b prečiščenega besedila zakona.
if the Commission should still be of the opinion that the ceiling is selective, this is justified by the tax system's inherent logic, given that 61 % of holders of permits for private water extraction paid the highest tax under Section 24b, and as such this amount should be considered to be the norm.
Poleg tega ima velika večina oproščenih kmetijskih gospodarstev dovoljenje za črpanje zgolj 1000 m3, zaradi česar je znesek oprostitve še nižji.
the ceiling can be justified on the basis of the provisions in the Commission notice on the application of the State aid rules to measures relating to direct business taxation, given that it serves a redistributive purpose (point 24 of the Commission notice), does not contain any discretionary elements and is related to a particularly important production factor (point 27 of the Commission notice), all of which are circumstances that can justify the tax on the basis of the tax system's nature or inherent logic.
Vsi navedeni zneski so v mejah, določenih z uredbami de minimis tako za primarno kmetijsko proizvodnjo kot za predelavo hrane, in zato ne morejo izkrivljati konkurence.
In this context the Danish authorities again refer to the Commission's decision in case N 472/2002 and stress the importance of water as a production factor.
Združljivost
As regards the tax exemption in Section 24c and the differential treatment of enterprises in the same sector referred to in the opening decision, the Danish authorities argue that, on the basis of the tax system's structure, it was logical to grant an exemption from the tax to the many holders of permits for extracting smaller volumes of water, considering the insignificant yields the tax would contribute and the limited impact on water resources.
Sektor primarne proizvodnje
Given that the tax was calculated on the basis of the volume that could theoretically be extracted according to the permit, the enterprises only had to pay EUR 81 in 2009, EUR 84 in 2010 and EUR 83 in 2011.
Danski organi v nadaljevanju analize trdijo, da bi bila morebitna pomoč, povezana s shemama obdavčitve iz členov 24b in 24c prečiščenega besedila zakona, vsekakor združljiva z notranjim trgom.
Moreover, because the vast majority of the extraction permits only concern an average volume of 1000 m3 per year, the amount of the exemption was only EUR 40 for the entire period.
Kar zadeva znižanje pristojbine iz člena 24b prečiščenega besedila zakona, danski organi menijo, da so bile upoštevane določbe točk od 151 do 159 okoljskih smernic, v tem smislu, da je pristojbina, ki se pobira, okoljska dajatev, katere znižanje je potrebno in sorazmerno v vseh predvidenih primerih (tj. pri analizi, v okviru katere bi bil uporabljeni referenčni scenarij pristojbina iz člena 24a prečiščenega besedila zakona, ali analizi, v okviru katere bi bil uporabljeni referenčni scenarij sama pristojbina iz člena 24b prečiščenega besedila zakona, vendar bi se za zgornjo mejo 25000 m3 štelo, da se z njo lahko daje prednost imetnikom dovoljenja za črpanje več kot 25000 m3 vode).
In addition, holders of small extraction permits (maximum 6000 m3) differ in that they are not subject to reporting obligations, with the result that there is no comprehensive register of permits that the tax administration can use.
Okoljska dajatev (točka 151 okoljskih smernic)
With regard to the question on selectivity, the Danish authorities state in conclusion that it is exclusively the exemption in Segment 24c that can be considered to be selective, because it favours certain undertakings, but that in any case it is justified by the tax system's nature and inherent logic.
Danski organi ponazarjajo okoljsko naravo pristojbine s sklicevanjem na splošni cilj sheme obdavčitve, in sicer zaščito virov pitne vode, in poudarjajo, da ukrep Danske na tem področju presega obveznosti iz evropske okvirne direktive o vodah in da ni nujno, da obstaja v drugih državah članicah.
They add that even if the Commission continues to consider the tax scheme in Section 24a as the reference system, this is not a case of discrimination considering the differences in factual and legal circumstances set out above.
Dodajajo, da je bil sistem zasnovan tako, da bi lahko subjekti, ki prispevajo največ (lastniki splošnih sistemov za oskrbo z vodo), pristojbino prenesli na potrošnike glede na njihovo porabo in jih tako spodbudili k manjši porabi.
Distortion of competition and effect on trade
Po njihovih navedbah je uvedba znižanj in oprostitev pristojbine za tiste, ki sami črpajo vodo, omogočila višjo obdavčitev skupine tistih, ki porabijo največ pitne vode.
In their emails dated 12 June 2012 and 7 November 2013 the Danish authorities address this issue from two angles: firstly, the tax scheme in Section 24a is compared to the schemes in Sections 24b and 24c; and secondly; the tax scheme in Section 24b is compared to the scheme in Section 24c.
Nujnost pomoči (točka 158 okoljskih smernic)
With regard to the first comparison, the Danish authorities stress that if a national measure does not confer a selective advantage, it cannot distort competition or affect trade between Member States.
Kar zadeva merilo iz točke 158(a) okoljskih smernic (v skladu s katerim mora izbira upravičencev temeljiti na objektivnih in preglednih merilih, pomoč pa mora biti načeloma dodeljena na enak način za vse konkurente v istem sektorju/upoštevnem trgu, če so v podobnem dejanskem stanju), danski organi izpodbijajo trditev Komisije, da so opravili primerjavo med gospodarskimi subjekti zunaj kmetijskega sektorja, ki imajo dovoljenje za črpanje, in gospodarskimi subjekti v kmetijskem sektorju.
Having, demonstrated, as they see it, that the tax reduction or exemption does not favour the recipients in relation to other enterprises which can be presumed to be in a comparable factual or legal situation, they consider that there can be no distortion of competition within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU.
Menijo, da shema obdavčitve ne vzpostavlja razlikovanja med podjetji znotraj in zunaj določenih sektorjev, temveč da je vsak lastnik sistema za oskrbo z vodo, ki ni splošni sistem, z dovoljenjem za črpanje več kot 6000 m3 podzemne vode na leto ne glede na svoj sektor dejavnosti zavezan pristojbini, določeni s členom 24b prečiščenega besedila zakona.
With regard to the second comparison, the Danish authorities recognise that the enterprises that are exempted from the tax have received an advantage in comparison to other enterprises, but they argue that the value of the exemption is so insignificant that it does not affect competition on the internal market.
Če bi se za zgornjo mejo 25000 m3 štelo, da je z njo podeljena prednost imetnikom dovoljenja za črpanje več kot 25000 m3 vode, sta zahtevi glede objektivnosti in preglednosti pri izbiri upravičencev izpolnjeni, saj se znižanje pristojbine uporablja enako za vsa podjetja v istem sektorju, ki so v enakem dejanskem položaju (imetniki dovoljenja za črpanje več kot 25000 m3 vode).
This is substantiated, in their view, by the fact that no enterprise has submitted any complaint.
Danski organi se sprašujejo tudi, zakaj se Komisija ob sklicevanju na objektivna in pregledna merila pri izbiri upravičencev zanima za podjetja v drugih državah članicah, ki niso upravičena do enake prednosti kot danska podjetja, ki plačujejo znižano pristojbino ali so je oproščena, saj tuja podjetja niso zajeta v danskem sistemu obdavčitve.
In addition, the Danish authorities are of the opinion that it is for the Commission to prove that an aid measure distorts competition.
V zvezi s tem se sklicujejo na sklep Komisije v zadevi C 30/2009, v katerem je Komisija ugotovila objektivnost in jasnost zgoraj navedenih meril izbire.
In that context they refer to the Judgment of the Court of 24 October 1996 in case C-329/93, Federal Republic of Germany, Hanseatische Industrie-Beteiligungen GmbH and Bremer Vulkan Verbund AG v Commission of the European Communities, and in particular paragraph 52, in which it is stated that ‘while in certain cases the very circumstances in which the aid has been granted may show that it is liable to affect trade between Member States and to distort competition, the Commission must at least set out those circumstances in the statement of the reasons for its decision’.
Po njihovem mnenju je povišanje proizvodnih stroškov, ki lahko doseže skoraj 8 %, precejšnje (v zvezi s tem se sklicujejo na odločbo Komisije o državni pomoči N 327/2008, v kateri se je povišanje proizvodnih stroškov za 3 % štelo za precejšnje) in omogoča, da se merilo iz točke 158(b) okoljskih smernic šteje za izpolnjeno.