Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 26 February 2019 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Finanzgericht Baden-Württemberg — Germany) — Martin Wächtler v Finanzamt Konstanz

(Case C-581/17) ¹

(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the free movement of persons — Transfer by a natural person of his domicile from a Member State to Switzerland — Taxation of unrealised capital gains with respect to shares in a company — Direct taxation — Freedom of movement of self-employed persons — Equal treatment)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Finanzgericht Baden-Württemberg

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Martin Wächtler

Defendant: Finanzamt Konstanz

Operative part of the judgment

The provisions of the Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other, on the free movement of persons, signed in Luxembourg on 21 June 1999, must be interpreted as precluding a tax regime of a Member State which, in a situation where a natural person who is a national of a Member State and who pursues an economic activity in the territory of the Swiss Confederation transfers his domicile from the Member State whose tax regime is at issue to Switzerland, provides for the collection, at the time of that transfer, of the tax payable on unrealised capital gains with respect to shares owned by that national, whereas, if domicile is retained in that Member State, the collection of the tax takes place only at the time when the capital gains are realised, that is on a disposal of the shares concerned.

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¹ OJ C 13, 15.1.2018.