Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Finanzgericht Münster by order of that court of 5 July 2005 in Columbus Container Services B.V.B.A. & Co. v Finanzamt Bielefeld-Innenstadt

(Case C-298/05)

(2005/C 271/25)

Language of the case: German

Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the European Communities by order of the Finanzgericht Münster of 5 July 2005, received at the Court Registry on 26 July 2005, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings between Columbus Container Services B.V.B.A. & Co. and Finanzamt Bielefeld-Innenstadt on the following question:

Is it contrary to the provisions of Article 52 of the EC Treaty (now Article 43 EC) and Article 73(b) to 73(d) of the EC Treaty (now Articles 56 to 58 EC) for the legislation contained in Paragraph 20(2) and (3) of the Außensteuergesetz (Foreign Transaction Tax Law, hereinafter: the ‘AStG’) as amended by the Missbrauchsbekämpfungs- und Steuerbereinigungsgesetz (Law combating abuse and streamlining taxation) of 21 December 1993 (BGBl 1993 I, p. 2310) to exempt from double taxation the designated passive income of a foreign permanent establishment of a party with unlimited liability to tax in Germany, which would be liable to tax as controlled-foreign-corporation (CFC) income if the permanent establishment were a foreign corporation, by offsetting the foreign tax on earnings levied on the income rather than by exempting the income from taxation in Germany contrary to the double taxation convention between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Kingdom of Belgium of 11 April 1967?