EU Court Backs Italian Transaction Tax in SocGen Dispute

EU nations can make foreign firms pay transactions taxes on derivatives trades when the underlying securities are based in their territory, the bloc’s top court says.

• Case concerns dispute involving Societe Generale SA, which was seeking refunds of Italian levies
• EU law doesn’t prevent such taxes “since these instruments have as their underlying title a security issued by a company established in that Member State,” the EU Court of Justice court says
• “The administrative and declaratory obligations accompanying this tax incumbent on non-resident entities must not, however, go beyond what is necessary for the recovery of the tax,” court ...