In a request for a preliminary ruling, the Supreme Tax Court has referred several questions to the ECJ regarding the compatibility of non-profit tax status and the prohibition of state aid under EU law. The question to be answered is whether the extension of tax relief for special-purpose entities to companies that provide services for remuneration in cooperation with a corporation that is recognized as a non-profit organization (so-called service corporation) constitutes illicit state aid in accordance with Art. 107 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
In a recently published decision, the Supreme Tax Court held that the operation of an online platform for the publication of socio-political issues can only be recognized as a charitable non-profit promotion of the democratic state if the matters of concern are related to the exercise of state authority and are dealt with in a neutral und unbiased manner.
In two recent decisions published on 28 November 2024, the Supreme Tax Court commented on the tax privileged non-profit status (public-benefit purpose) of extremist corporations and the presumption of conformity resulting from a Federation’s or a Land’s report on the protection of the constitution according to Sections 51 (3) sentence 2 of the German Fiscal Code.
The European Commission adopted a proposal to facilitate cross-border activities of non-profit associations in the EU. It will improve the functioning of the Internal Market by removing legal and administrative barriers for non-profit associations that operate or wish to operate in more than one Member State, thus promoting the role non-profit associations play in generating economic and societal values in the EU and allow a level playing field between them.
