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Parents should be able to tax deduct school fees if their children attend schools in another EU i member state, the European Court of Justice i has ruled.
The EU's highest court ruled on Tuesday (11 September) that the German tax law of only allowing tax deduction for parents who send their kids to certified private schools in Germany is illegal and that it violates EU law of the free movement of goods and people.
The case came to light after a couple from North Rhine-Westphalia sent their two children to a boarding school in Scotland. The parents sought to deduct the school fees in their tax declaration, but the German tax office rejected the move.
In Germany, parents can deduct 30 percent from their tax off the school fees, but only if the school is nationally recognised.
Following the parents' complaint, a court in Cologne asked the Luxembourg-based EU court if the German regulation was compatible with EU law.
The European Commission i also got interested in the case and sued Berlin on the issue in 2005, arguing that the tax law infringes the freedom of movement, a basic tenet of EU law.
The EU executive won the case on Tuesday.