German Court: Nuclear Tax Constitutional, Within EU Law
FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)--Germany's tax on nuclear fuel rods--introduced by the federal government last year and fiercely opposed by the country's atomic power plant operators--doesn't violate the constitution or European Union laws, said a regional finance court in southern Germany Thursday.
The court's announcement supports the position of the government and stands in sharp contrast with decisions by two other regional finance courts, which last year said they have strong doubts about the legality of the tax. In a written statement, the Stuttgart finance court of the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg said "there are no serious doubts over the constitutionality" of the levy.
Last year courts in Munich and Hamburg said it is doubtful the nuclear tax can be considered as an excise consumption tax, as it has been labeled. Excise taxes can usually be passed on to customers by the producer of a product, but the nuclear tax law specifically forbids the utilities from doing this. The courts had also said that the levy violates the proprietary rights of nuclear power plant operators.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120112-710911.html
