Sorainen has successfully represented the Nordcurrent Group before the Court of Justice of the European Union in a case that clarified the application of dividend tax exemption rules.
According to Sorainen, the court ruled in favor of Nordcurrent Group, contesting the approach taken by Lithuania’s State Tax Inspectorate and setting a significant precedent across Europe. The dispute began in 2021 and involved EUR 1 million in unjustly assessed taxes. In recent years, the STI in Lithuania had increasingly taxed dividends involving foreign group companies based on the notion that exemptions do not apply when a company exists primarily for tax advantages. However, the STI’s practice was overly narrow, failing to consider whether the group structure actually resulted in meaningful tax savings. The CJEU held that the STI cannot limit its assessment to the dividend payment period alone but must take into account all relevant circumstances behind the group’s structure – including its technical capacity for sales in Lithuania – and that the assessment of tax benefits must further consider factors such as corporate tax paid in other jurisdictions.
In 2021, Sorainen advised Nordcurrent on the acquisition of Rin Games (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on December 20, 2021) and, in 2018, the firm advised Nordcurrent on the acquisition of the Blam! games studios (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on May 10, 2018).
The Sorainen team included Partner Indre Sceponiene and Associate Migle Mainionyte.