CFE Forum 2012

The annual Forum of the Confédération Fiscale Européenne (CFE) on 'Tax Law in the light of judgments - interaction between European Law and Domestic Courts' will take place on Thursday 19 April 2012 from 9:00 hrs to 17:15 hrs at the Representation of the State Saxony-Anhalt to the European Union, Boulevard Saint Michel 80, 1040 Brussels.
 
National courts play a crucial role in the application of EU law. Apart from the everyday application of EU law on a case, it is their task to contribute to a uniform interpretation by identifying unclear EU law questions to be referred to the European Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling. For tax practitioners, it is essential to know how a national tax court will apply EU law and when a reference to the ECJ has to be made.
 
The European Court of Justice´s acte clair doctrine releases a national court from having to refer a case to the ECJ if there can be no reasonable doubts as to the validity and interpretation of EU law. This leaves a wide margin of appreciation to the national courts. The Forum will take a look at how this margin is applied in practice in different EU Member States.
 
Complexity is added by the fact that principles of EU law are applied differently in tax and Internal Market matters: the ECJ has held that the obligation of the principal to withhold a 15% tax from the payment to servicers of construction work violates the Internal Market freedoms (case C-433/04, Commission vs. Belgium) while in the VAT Directive, a reverse charge may be imposed. The question arises whether a Directive may deviate from the TFEU Treaty as interpreted by the ECJ without violating the Treaty. The limits of such deviation need to be outlined more clearly.
 
Both subjects will cover direct and indirect tax issues.
 
Please find attached the programme, the registration form which needs to be returned to the CFE Brussels office by e-mail or by fax before Friday 13 April 2011 and a map.
 
The reservation sheets for the hotels which are also included in the invitation need to be sent directly to the hotels. Please note that the deadline for the hotels is 15 March 2012.

More information on http://www.cfe-eutax.org/node/2791.