Facts
On June 13, 2013, the competent service of the Dutch tax authority (Belastingdienst) submitted a request for administrative assistance to the Federal Tax Administration. The request concerned X AG, Y AG, A.A., and Z BV. For the purpose of correctly assessing Dutch income and corporate tax, the Belastingdienst requested the Federal Tax Administration to provide various information.
By final decision dated February 21, 2014, the Federal Tax Administration ordered that administrative assistance be provided to the Belastingdienst. The affected parties filed a complaint against this decision with the Federal Administrative Court, which partially upheld the complaint and partially revoked the final decision.
The Federal Tax Administration then filed a public law appeal with the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that according to Art. 4 (1) and (3) of the Tax Administrative Assistance Act (StAhiG), administrative assistance is provided exclusively upon request, and the transmission of information concerning persons not affected by the request is inadmissible.
The term "affected person" in the substantive sense results from the meaning of the phrase "persons not affected by the request" under Art. 4 (3) StAhiG. The interpretation of this provision is based - in accordance with the purpose of the applicable double taxation agreement - on the criterion of foreseeable relevance.
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