Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 19 July 2012 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesfinanzhof - Germany) - Marianne Scheunemann v Finanzamt Bremerhaven
(Case C-31/11)
(Freedom of establishment - Free movement of capital - Direct taxation - Inheritance tax - Conditions for the calculation of the tax - Acquisition through inheritance of a shareholding, as sole shareholder, in a capital company established in a third country - National legislation excluding shareholdings in such companies from tax advantages)
Language of the case: German
Referring court
Bundesfinanzhof
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicant: Marianne Scheunemann
Defendant: Finanzamt Bremerhaven
Re:
Reference for a preliminary ruling - Bundesfinanzhof - Interpretation of Articles 56 EC and 58 EC - Acquisition by inheritance of a shareholding, as a sole shareholder, in a capital company established in a third country forming part of the private wealth of the deceased - Inheritance tax - National legislation providing for tax advantages for companies which have their registered office or principle place of business in the national territory
Operative part of the judgment
Legislation of a Member State, such as that at issue in the main proceedings which, for the purposes of calculating inheritance tax, excludes the application of certain tax advantages to an estate in the form of a shareholding in a capital company established in a third country, while conferring those advantages in the event of the inheritance of such a shareholding when the registered office of the company is in a Member State, primarily affects the exercise of the freedom of establishment for the purposes of Article 49 TFEU et seq., since that holding enables the shareholder to exert a definite influence over the decisions of that company and to determine its activities. Those Treaty provisions are not intended to apply to a situation concerning a shareholding held in a company which has its registered office in a third country.
____________1 - OJ C 113, 9.4.2011.