In EC Commission v Federal Republic of Germany (ECJ Case C-284/09) the European Commission applied to the ECJ for a declaration that ‘by taxing dividends distributed to a company with its registered office in another Member State or in the European Economic Area more heavily in economic terms than dividends distributed to a company with its registered office in its territory’ Germany had failed to fulfil its obligations under what is now Article 63 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
The ECJ granted the declaration.
Why it matters: Article 63 of the TFEU provides for the free movement of capital. The ECJ upheld the Commission’s view that the relevant German legislation contravened this provision.
