In this case, the United Kingdom has asked the Court of Justice to annul a Council decision authorising eleven Member States to use the enhanced cooperation procedure to set up a financial transaction tax (‘FTT’).
That decision was adopted when, after three Council meetings in June and July 2012 where a Commission 2011 proposal for a directive was discussed, it became obvious that an FTT could not obtain unanimous support within the Council in the foreseeable future.
In February 2013, after the adoption of the decision authorising enhanced cooperation, the Commission adopted a further proposal for a directive.
The United Kingdom considers that the contested decision authorises the adoption of an FTT which produces extraterritorial effects. It further maintains that, read together with other directives on mutual assistance and administrative cooperation in the area of tax, the FTT will impose costs on non-participating Member States. The United Kingdom accepts that its action might be regarded as premature and that, rather than challenging the authorisation decision, it should contest, at the appropriate time, the implementing measure which will ultimately be adopted by the participating States. Nonetheless, it decided to bring, as a precaution, an action for the annulment of the authorisation decision in order to preserve its right to challenge such an implementing measure. By its judgment today, the Court dismisses the United Kingdom’s action.
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