In Re Ingrid Schmelz (ECJ Case C-97/09) a woman (S) who lived in Germany received income from letting an apartment in Austria. Her Austrian income fell below the threshold for the ‘small undertakings exemption’ and she was not liable to VAT in Germany. However the Austrian tax authority refused to grant her exemption on the grounds that she was not resident in Austria. She appealed and the Austrian tribunal referred the case to the ECJ for a ruling on the interpretation of Article 283 of Directive 2006/112/EC.
The ECJ upheld the Austrian provisions holding that ‘at this stage in the evolution of the VAT system the objective which consists in guaranteeing the effectiveness of fiscal supervision in order to combat fraud tax evasion and possible abuse and the objective of the scheme for small undertakings which is to support the competitiveness of...
