In a 2010 decision (C-311/08, SGI) regarding a Belgian provision according to which a company resident in Belgium is taxed in respect of an unusual advantage which it has granted to an affiliated company established in another member state, whereas it would not have been taxed had that advantage been granted to an affiliated Belgian company, the ECJ held that the resulting restriction on the freedom of establishment was justified by the need to maintain the balanced allocation of the power to tax between the member states and to prevent tax avoidance, taken together. Sabine Heidenbauer examines the interrelationship of these justifications and considers the ongoing relevance of “wholly artificial arrangements” and their identification in transfer pricing scenarios.