Marks & Spencer (M&S), a UK retailer, invoked articles 43 and 48 of the EC Treaty in an effort to use the losses generated by its subsidiaries in Belgium, Germany and France against its UK profits. In the ordinary course of events, M&S might have used these losses against profits generated by the subsidiaries in the relevant jurisdiction but M&S ceased trading in Belgium, Germany and France, leaving the subsidiaries awash with carry forward losses that were effectively useless or only partially useful.
May 25 2005