Assessment breaches European law
A taxpayer who feels that an assessment breaches European law may base an
appeal upon that contention. However, the German appeal process must be
followed – the taxpayer cannot turn directly to the European Court of Justice.
He or she can, however, request the tax court, but not the tax authorities, to do
so. Cases heard before the ECJ typically take some two years to resolve, and it
should be noted that that Court will not rule for or against a taxpayer in a
specific instance, but rather on whether Community law allows or precludes a
given point of national law or practice.
The ECJ judgment thus takes the form
of an answer to a “preliminary” question posed by the referring court, and not
of an order for or against a taxpayer.
EU Forecast
euf:ba18e:135/nws-01