In its decision of January 22 2003 in what is known as the Pirelli case, the UK High Court rejected a claim by the Inland Revenue that companies that would otherwise be entitled to compensation in respect of advance corporation tax (ACT) paid on dividends to the parent companies in the EU on the basis of the European Court of Justice decision in the Hoechst case, should be denied such compensation or be subject to an offsetting reduction if the group was entitled to a tax credit refund under a double tax treaty between the UK and the country in which the parent company was resident. The court also decided that it was not necessary at this stage to refer to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) the issue as to whether ACT was a withholding tax. This decision is subject to appeal.
February 01 2003