While living in France, Israel Daniel Amram (IDA) devised an idea for the development of a unique and efficient computerized interface that would link insurance companies and physicians and facilitate financial accounting between medical service providers and patients. IDA registered the trademark “SEPHIRA” and formed a company in France under the name SAS SEPHIRA . IDA then moved to Israel and formed Sephira & Offek Ltd. Going forward the company in Israel would provid R&D services to SAS SEPHIRA in France. All of the taxable profits in Israel was labled as “R&D income” which is taxed at a lower rate in Israel. Later IDA’s rights in the trademark was sold to Sephira & Offek Ltd in return for €8.4m. Due to IDA’s status as a “new Immigrant” in Israel profits from the sale was tax exempt. Following the acquisition of the trademark, Sephira & Offek Ltd licensed the trademark to SAS SEPHIRA in return for royalty payments. In the books ... Read more

The issue in these cases was tax provisions in Spain stipulating that, when a company in Spain acquires a share holding in a foreign company of at least 5%, goodwill resulting from that acquisition can be deducted for tax purposes through amortization (much like the US asset deal-regs). The Commission found these provisions to be in violation of EU State Aid rules. In 2014, the General Court annulled these Decisions, finding that the Commission had failed to establish the selective nature of the alleged aid measure. The General Court argued that for the selectivity condition to be satisfied, it is always necessary that a particular category of undertakings be identified that are exclusively favoured by the measure concerned and that can be distinguished by reason of specific properties common to them and characteristic of them. If that is not possible, then the measure is effectively open to all undertakings and thus not selective. The decision was then appealed by the ... Read more