Zum Verhältnis von Gleichheit und Rechtssicherheit im EU-Steuerrecht - am Beispiel der Vorsteuererstattung für Drittstaatsunternehmen

It is the aim of this article to analyse the true nature of the relationship between the principles of equality and legal certainty in European law, in particular within harmonised fields of European taxation. This relationship has been at issue in a recent case of the Court of Justice on VAT, where it is manifest as a specification of the relationship between primary and secondary EU law. The Court's decision gives rise to difficult questions far beyond the rather intricate tax law problem ostensibly at the heart of the proceedings. Taking the decision of the Court as a starting point, the article examines these deeper questions and proposes a sustainable solution for situations where the principles of equality and legal certainty point into different directions.