This article discusses international tax developments and has been prepared by professionals in the member firms of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
Originally published May 2005
ECJ Advocate General Gives Qualified Support for Cross-Border Loss Relief Claims in Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer Plc (M&S) can claim group relief on losses incurred by subsidiaries in other EU Member States, according to European Court of Justice (ECJ) Advocate General (AG) Poiares Maduro, in a case that has been watched closely by international business and Finance Ministers across Europe.
In the highly awaited opinion issued 7 April 2005 (Marks & Spencer plc. v. David Halsey (HM Inspector of Taxes)), AG Poiares Maduro concluded that the U.K. system of group loss relief was incompatible with the freedom of establishment principles of the EC Treaty in not potentially allowing the losses of foreign resident subsidiaries to be offset against the profits of the U.K. parent company, but the AG then went on to