CJEU – Recent Developments in Direct Taxation 2019

1. S. 126Germany: Case C-480/17 (Montag)

1.1. Facts and legal Background

Mr. Frank Montag, a German national, is a resident of Belgium. In the taxable year 2008 he worked as a lawyer and equity partner in an international law firm. 54% of his world-wide net income was earned in Germany, 6.3% of his world-wide net income in Belgium and the remainder in other countries.

He was registered as a European lawyer at the Brussels bar. As a requirement for the registration as a European lawyer he had to be simultaneously registered at a bar association in Germany. In Germany, lawyers are exempt from contributing to the statutory pension system but have to make contributions to an occupational pension scheme organized by the bar association. Contributions to that occupational pension scheme are compulsory for all members of the bar in Germany.

Mr. Montag paid the maximum possible amount to the North Rhine-Westphalia Lawyers’ Pension Scheme. Of that amount, only a part of it constituted compulsory contribution while the rest was paid on a voluntary basis in order to increase his future pension. In addition, Mr. Montag also made contributions to a private pension scheme in Germany.

In Germany, residents ...