Belgium's Tax on Sale of Substantial Shareholdings to Foreign Entity Violates EC Treaty, Court Says

European Court of Justice on 8 June issued a reasoned order in a preliminary ruling sought by the Antwerp Court of First Instance on the compatibility with EU law of Belgium's capital gains tax on the sale of a substantial participation in a Belgian company to a foreign entity (De Baeck v. Belgian State (Case C-268/03)). The Court found articles 67(8) and 67 ter of the Belgian Income Tax Code (ITC) 1964, which govern that taxation, to be incompatible with the principles of freedom of establishment and free movement of capital, as established in the EC Treaty.

Belgian Tax on Sales of Substantial Shares Violates EC Treaty, ECJ Says, Tax Notes International, 28 June 2004
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