34A distinction must therefore be drawn between the unequal treatment permitted under Article 58(1)(a) EC and the arbitrary discrimination prohibited under Article 58(3) EC. According to the case-law, in order for national tax legislation such as that at issue in the main proceedings – which, for the purposes of calculating gift tax, distinguishes as to the amount of the allowance applicable to the taxable value of immovable property located in the Member State concerned according to whether the donor or the donee resides in that State or they both reside in another Member State – to be regarded as compatible with the Treaty provisions on the free movement of capital, the difference in treatment must concern situations which are not objectively comparable or be justified by overriding reasons in the general interest. In order to be justified, moreover, the difference in treatment between those two categories of gifts must not go beyond what is necessary in order to attain the objective of the legislation in question (see Case C-319/02 Manninen [2004] ECR I-7477, paragraph 29; Eckelkamp and Others, paragraphs 58 and 59; and Arens-Sikken, paragraphs 52 and 53).
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