In the German case of Y Welter v Finanzamt Welbert (CJEU Case C-181/12) Advocate-General Mengozzi expressed the Opinion that what are now articles 63–65 of the TFEU precluded ‘national legislation on inheritance tax under which in cases where land situated within that Member State is acquired through inheritance by a non-resident person that person is entitled to a tax-free amount of €2 000 whereas a tax-free amount of €500 000 would have been granted if at the time of the death the deceased or the acquirer had resided in that Member State’.
Why it matters: Advocate general Mengozzi expressed the opinion that the relevant German inheritance tax legislation contravened the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It seems likely that the CJEU will uphold this opinion.