On 28 August 2012, Advocate-General (AG) Wattel of the Netherlands Supreme Court (HogeRaad der Nederlanden) gave his opinion (recently published) in case No. 12/01453, X. Beheer B.V. v. Staatssecretaris van Financiën. The case concerned the (partial) application of article 16 of the Dutch Income Tax Law 1964 (ITL 1964), i.e. taxation of cessation profits (fiscaleeindafrekening). The ITL 1964 was replaced on 1 January 2001 by the (current) Income Tax Law 2001. Details of the decision are summarized below. (a) Facts. In 2000, X Beheer BV (the Taxpayer), a Dutch resident company, transferred its statutory seat to Malta. At the time of...