13.4.2015

Official Journal of the European Union

C 118/16

(Case C-18/15)

(2015/C 118/22)

Language of the case: Portuguese

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: Brisal — Auto Estradas do Litoral S.A., KBC Finance Ireland

Defendant: Fazenda Pública

Questions referred

1.Does Article 56 TFEU preclude national tax legislation under which financial institutions not resident in Portuguese territory are subject to tax on interest income received in that territory, withheld at source at the definitive rate of 20 % (or at a lower rate if there is an agreement to avoid double taxation), a tax applied to gross income with no possibility of deducting business expenses directly related to the financial activity carried out, whereas the interest received by resident financial institutions is incorporated in the total taxable income, with deduction of any expenses related to the activity pursued when determining the profit for the purposes of corporation tax, so that the basic rate of 25 % is applied to the net interest income?

2.Does the same hold good even if the tax base of resident financial institutions, after deduction of the financing costs related to the interest income, or of expenses directly related, economically, to such income, is or may be subject to a higher tax than is deducted at source from the gross income of non-resident institutions?

3.For this purpose, can the financing costs associated with the loans granted, or the expenses directly related, economically, to the interest income received, be proved by the data provided by the EURIBOR (‘Euro Interbank Offered Rate’) and by the LIBOR (‘London Interbank Offered Rate’) — which represent the average interest rates charged on interbank financing used by banks to carry out their activity?