7.9.2015

Official Journal of the European Union

C 294/31

(Case C-283/15)

(2015/C 294/38)

Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Appellant: X

Respondent: Staatssecretaris van Financiën

Questions referred

Must the provisions of the TFEU relating to free movement be interpreted as precluding national legislation under which a European Union citizen who resides in Spain and whose work-related income is taxed in the amount of approximately 60 % by the Netherlands and approximately 40 % by Switzerland may not deduct his negative income incurred in respect of his property in Spain, which is for his personal use, from his work-related income which is taxed in the Netherlands, even if he receives such a low income in Spain, as his State of residence, that the abovementioned negative income in the year in question could not have led to tax relief in the State of residence?

If Question 1 is answered in the affirmative: must every Member State in which the European Union citizen earns part of his income then take into account the full amount of the abovementioned negative income? Or does that obligation apply to only one of the States concerned in which work is carried out, and if so, to which? Or must each of the States in which work is carried out (not being the State of residence) allow part of that negative income to be deducted? In the latter case, how is that deductible part to be determined?

If Question 1 is answered in the affirmative: must every Member State in which the European Union citizen earns part of his income then take into account the full amount of the abovementioned negative income? Or does that obligation apply to only one of the States concerned in which work is carried out, and if so, to which? Or must each of the States in which work is carried out (not being the State of residence) allow part of that negative income to be deducted? In the latter case, how is that deductible part to be determined?

In this regard, is the Member State in which the work is actually performed the decisive factor, or is the decisive factor which Member State has the power to tax the income earned thereby?

Would the answer to the two questions set out under (2) be different if one of the States in which the European Union citizen earns his income is Switzerland, which is not a Member State of the European Union and also does not belong to the European Economic Area?

To what extent is it significant in this regard whether the legislation of the taxpayer’s country of residence (in this case, Spain) makes provision for the possibility of deducting mortgage interest relating to the taxpayer’s property and the possibility of offsetting the tax losses arising therefrom in the year in question against possible income earned in that country in later years?