Skatteforvaltningen v Solo Capital Partners LLP

In Skatteforvaltningen (Danish Customs and Tax Administration) v Solo Capital Partners LLP (in special administration) and others [2021] EWHC 974 (Comm) (27 April 2021)  the High Court dismissed the Danish tax authority’s claim which related to Danish withholding tax reclaimed on dividends on a preliminary issue that the claim contravenes the ‘revenue rule’.

Under Danish law a Danish company paying a dividend must withhold 23% of the payment and pay it over to the Danish tax authority (previously known as SKAT). Non-Danish shareholders may be entitled to claim refunds of that withholding tax pursuant to double tax treaties between Denmark and their states of residence. The claims for refunds from SKAT could (at the relevant time from 2012 to 2015) be made in various ways. The claims that are relevant to this case are those that were...