On 11 July 2008, a preliminary ruling was requested from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) by the Netherlands Supreme Court (Hoge Raad der Nederlanden) on the interpretation of the Merger Directive 90/434/EEC (Directive) in connection with a scheme designed to avoid the property transfer tax in the Netherlands. (a) Background. Under Art. 3.55 of the Income Tax Law and Art. 14 of the Corporate Income Tax Law, stock and enterprise mergers are tax-neutral, subject to certain conditions. In addition, Art. 15 of the Law on Various Legal Transactions provides, inter alia, for an exemption from property transfer tax of...