CJEU – Recent Developments in Value Added Tax 2015

I. S. 274Introductory Remarks

This chapter comments on the cases discussed by Van Doesum in his summary of recent CJEU cases dealing with issues relating to the taxable amount or to VAT rates. For each case, or group of cases, the comments include some or all of the following: my own perspective on the cases, my responses to Van Doesum’s discussion, a comparison between the EU law – as elucidated by the CJEU – and the goods and services tax regimes of Australia and New Zealand, and comments on the merits, or otherwise, of pursuing particular policy objectives through the VAT. While the cases in this category might not be the most exciting VAT cases of recent times, they nonetheless illustrate the fundamentals of both GST design and practice. For ease of cross-reference, I have mirrored the structure of Van Doesum’s chapter.

II. Taxable Amount

A. Elements Constituting and/or Increasing the Taxable Amount

1. Property Development Company NV

The first case discussed by Van Doesum deals with a property development company (‘the developer’) that had constructed an office building with the intention of selling it but rented out the building prior to the eventual sale. Although the sale was subject t...