Judgment_paragraph 47 · European Commission v Hungary (C-596/19 P)

47EU law thus does not preclude progressive taxation from being based on turnover, including where such taxation is not intended to offset the negative effects likely to be caused by the activity being taxed. Contrary to what the Commission maintains, the amount of turnover constitutes, in general, a criterion of differentiation that is neutral and a relevant indicator of the taxable person’s ability to pay (see, to that effect, judgments of 3 March 2020, Vodafone Magyarország, C‑75/18, EU:C:2020:139, paragraph 50, and Tesco-Global Áruházak, C‑323/18, EU:C:2020:140, paragraph 70). It does not follow from any rule or principle of EU law, including in the field of State aid, that progressive rates may apply only to taxes on profits. Moreover, like turnover, profit in itself is merely a relative indicator of ability to pay. The fact that it may constitute, as the Commission contends, a more relevant or more precise indicator than turnover is irrelevant in matters of State aid, since EU law on that matter seeks only to remove the selective advantages from which certain undertakings might benefit to the detriment of others which are placed in a comparable situation. The same is true of the possibility of economic double taxation, linked to combined taxation on turnover and taxation of profits.