Latest case law from EU member states on beneficial ownership and abuse of law

Recent case law across Europe shows that domestic courts are being inspired by the CJEU case law on abuse. In this newsletter we have summarised recent case law in Switzerland, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy.

Despite the Italian Supreme Court’s positive ruling, a trend seems to be set: taxpayers claiming benefits under EU or treaty law should more than ever be ready to demonstrate the economic rationale of their structures.

• SWITZERLAND: The Swiss Federal Supreme Court ruled on the application of abuse of rights on cross-border dividend distributions

• FRANCE. The French Administrative Supreme Court ruled that the beneficial owner status is a condition for benefiting from the Parent-Subsidiary Directive’s dividend withholding tax exemption
• SPAIN. The Spanish Central Administrative Court referred for the first time to the Danish cases to interpret Spanish anti-abuse clause on dividends paid to EU holdings
• NETHERLANDS: Dutch cases: one step further …
• ITALY. The Italian Supreme Court delivered an important decision on beneficial ownership and substance of holding companies in July 2020, No. 14756.

The full ETLC document can be viewed here.