5.12.2009   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 297/7


Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 15 October 2009 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Finanzgericht Baden-Württemberg — Germany) — Grundstücksgemeinschaft Busley and Cibrian Fernandez v Finanzamt Stuttgart-Körperschaften

(Case C-35/08) (1)

(Free movement of capital - Immovable property - Income tax - Deductibility of rental losses from the taxable income of a person liable to tax - Application of the decreasing-balance method of depreciation to the costs of acquisition or construction - More favourable tax treatment confined to immovable property situated on the national territory)

2009/C 297/03

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Finanzgericht Baden-Württemberg

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Grundstücksgemeinschaft Busley and Cibrian Fernandez

Defendant: Finanzamt Stuttgart-Körperschaften

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Finanzgericht Baden-Württemberg — Interpretation of Articles 18 and 56 of the EC Treaty — National income tax legislation limiting the ability to deduct losses arising from the rental of real property to those losses relating to property located on national territory, and reserving to such property alone the application of a more favourable method of depreciation

Operative part of the judgment

Article 56 EC precludes income-tax legislation of a Member State under which natural persons who are resident and liable to unlimited taxation are entitled to have (i) losses from the letting or leasing of an immovable property deducted from the taxable amount in the year in which those losses arise, and (ii) the income from such property assessed on the basis of the application of the decreasing-balance method of depreciation, only if the property in question is situated on the territory of that Member State.


(1)  OJ C 92, 12.04.2008.