European Parliament
President. –
Question No 24 by Dimitrios Papadimoulis 
Subject: ECJ judgment concerning Marks [amp] Spencer
The recent judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Communities in favour of the Marks [amp] Spencer company, which had asked the UK authorities for tax relief to offset losses suffered by subsidiaries of the group in other European countries, creates a new set of conditions and will have a significant impact on government revenue from corporation tax.
Although the judgment recognises that Member States may prohibit the parent company from deducting tax so that national governments do not suffer losses through the actions of multinational companies endeavouring to exploit the loopholes in tax legislation in order to maximise their profits, I believe that a new area of competition has been opened up between Member States to attract investment. What view does the Commission take of the Court's judgment? Does it propose to take any legislative initiative?

