Constitutional complaint challenging EU law incompatibility of pre-2004 Corporate Income Tax merger rules

The Federal Constitutional Court (Second Senate, Second Chamber) dismissed the constitutional complaint without providing a reasoned decision, thereby upholding the lower courts' rulings and resulting in the petitioner's failure. The dispute concerned the compatibility of § 8b(5) of the Corporate Income Tax Act (*KStG*), in its version applicable up to December 31, 2003, with European Union law, specifically the allegation that the provision was contrary to Community law. The decisive legal issue was the potential infringement of EU harmonization directives governing the taxation of merged or acquired entities, which the complainant argued violated the principles of legal certainty and fairness within the European tax framework.