European Union tax: European Commission Announcement

The European Commission has announced that it has referred the U.K. to the European Court of Justice for improper implementation of the Court's ruling in the Marks & Spencer cross-border loss relief decision. The Commission states that, although the U.K. amended its loss relief rules following the decision, the legislation still makes it "virtually impossible" for taxpayers to benefit from the relief.

The Commission has also decided to refer Spain and Portugal to the ECJ in respect of their tax provisions that impose an exit tax on companies that cease to be tax resident. This will be the first modern case on corporate exit taxation.