Press Release: Taxes on company capital: Commission considers Greek legislation incompatible with Capital Duty Directive

The European Commission decided on 13 January to send a formal request to Greece to amend its tax legislation applicable to the raising of capital. Greece applied capital duty when a company transferred its registered office or place of effective management to Greece and applied a general exemption from capital duty to agricultural and maritime companies. The Commission considered that these rules were contrary to the Directive concerning indirect taxes on the raising of capital (69/335/EEC) which allows Member States to subject only the formation of companies, not their transfer, to capital duty and does not allow Greece to exempt specific economic sectors from the tax. The request was in the form of a reasoned opinion, the second stage of the infringement procedure under Article 226 of the Treaty.