Gibraltar´s Tax Case Against The EU Commission

Although it may be as long as three months before Gibraltar learns whether or not its tax case against the European Commission has been successful, this week's four and a half hour hearing of oral evidence before the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg has strengthened a sense of quiet optimism about the outcome among the Government's legal team. A ruling in Gibraltar's favour will open the door to a new tax structure that, it is widely believed, will see the application of an across-the-board company tax in the vicinity of 10 per cent.

Initially Gibraltar had hoped that the court's decision would be handed down within weeks - in time for the new tax structure to be incorporated in the budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year beginning in July, but an unexpected intervention by Spain not only lengthened the oral proceeding but will have added to the deliberations of the five judges, so lengthening the wait for their decision.