Double Taxation: How to Beat the Heat
Staff Regulations, Article 24
The Communities shall assist any official, in particular in
proceedings against any person perpetrating threats, insulting or defamatory acts or utterances, or any attack to person or property to which he or a member of his family is subjected by reason of his position or duties.
They shall jointly and severally compensate the official for damage suffered in such cases, in so far as the official did not either intentionally or through grave negligence cause damage and has been unable to obtain compensation from the person who did cause it.
Staff Regulations, Article 25
Officials may submit requests concerning issues covered by these Staff Regulations to the Appointing Authority of their institution.
Any decision relating to a specific individual which is taken under these Staff Regulations shall at once be communicated in writing to the official concerned.
Any decision adversely affecting an official shall state the grounds on which it is based.
Re.: the threat of double taxation
Dear Ms Souka,
Under Article 25 of the Statute, I make this request.
Will the Appointing Authority please issue the following instructions to me in writing.
"You are hereby ordered to refuse to divulge to any national authorities information about the amount of the income that you receive from the EU Institutions. Such questions will be answered by the Appointing Authority.
Should any national authority attempt to impose a tax on your EU institutional income (in defiance of the Protocol on Privileges and Immunities) you are to refuse all payments and to report this breach of the Treatises to the Appointing Authority.
Best Regards and Season's Greetings"
Explanation
Attempts by national authorities to tax the salaries of EU officials have been going on for decades. They were ruled to be illegal by the Court of Justice in Humblet v Belgium (
Case 6/60) on 16 December 1960.
Unfortunately, this judgement leaves officials with the obligation to pay national taxes that are illegally imposed on them and gives them nothing more than the right to sue the Treaty defying government to eventually repay the money that it has stolen.
This process may cost huge sums of money and take many years, thus rendering the Humblet remedy nearly useless. After all, a national government that has already disregarded its Treaty obligations may show a similar lack of respect for due process of law.
Better protection is to be found under Article 12a of Protocol 36; officials and other servants are "immune from legal proceedings in respect of acts performed by them in their official capacity, including their words spoken or written.
They shall continue to enjoy this immunity after they have ceased to hold office". Technically, I will be breaking the national law by obeying that of the European Union.
We see that better protection from double taxation will cost the Appointing Authority an email to each one of us, nothing more.
