In its judgment in case C-269/07, Commission of the European Community/Germany, the ECJ held that the savings-pension bonus under German income tax law compensating for losses in the legal pension insurance scheme is not a tax advantage but a social advantage under Art. 7 para. 2 of Regulation (EEC) No. 1612/68 on freedom of movement for workers within the Community. According to the ECJ, this bonus is a positive benefit granted by the German state, leaving aside any possibility of deduction. It constitutes a minimum aid aimed at encouraging the setting up of a complementary pension irrespective of the beneficiary’s income. The requirement of being fully liable to German tax in order to be entitled to the savings-pension bonus amounts to a residence requirement and constitutes an infringement of Art. 39 EC Treaty and Art. 7 para. 2 of Regulation (EEC) No. 1612/68. Any justification by reasons of fiscal coherence is unacceptable since the granting of a social advantage cannot be made dependent on fiscal requirements. Manfred Pöltl explains the impacts of this judgment.