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Future of the finance centre in the balance
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The central point that puts the future of the finance centre on the balance is the decision by the European Commission that under EU law Gibraltar is not entitled to have a tax system different to that of the UK.
This is the worrying aspect of the EU decision that gains topicality as the court hearing unfolds in Luxembourg today.
It would have been different had the EU requested Gibraltar to change aspects of its financial legislation; changes are possible. It has been suggested that Gibraltar could have a tax structure that is equal for all and is not discriminatory.
But when the EU says that the tax system in Gibraltar must be the same as that in the UK it does not allow flexibility. And if our taxation is equal to that of Britain, where is the advantage for anyone to be attracted to Gibraltar by a different tax system?
Faced with such a damaging prospect, both the Gibraltar and the UK governments have been challenging the EU Commission's decision.
The chief minister, who has flown to Luxembourg, takes the view that Gibraltar "has formulated and submitted an impressive array of arguments."
Will the Luxembourg court be equally impressed?
The government has sought to support its arguments by the recent landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice in the Azores case.
"We are thus confident in the merits of our case," said Mr Caruana.
He is in Luxembourg to attend the oral hearing of the case. The oral hearing is very much the final stage of the litigation, so much depends on the written representations that have been made.
"The oral hearing is quite brief," said a statement from No.6 Convent Place. The written arguments represent the main part of the procedure, which is therefore a different system to ours.
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