The Court of Justice for the European Union has ruled that within the EU, Gibraltar and the UK must be treated as a single member.
The preliminary ruling means the UK did have the right to impose its Point of Consumption Tax—passed in 2014—on the territory. The Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association challenged the law saying the UK could not impose restrictions on other members of the EU and it should be treated as a separate tax jurisdiction.
The association initially challenged the tax law to the High Court of England and Wales, but that court referred the case to the CJEU.
The CJEU has essentially defined the status of Gibraltar within the UK and the European Union in order for the dispute to be solved. Though the territory is not technically part of the UK, within the context of the EU, the UK and Gibraltar must be treated as a single member state, the CJEU ruled.
The ruling is preliminary and the court has not released an official ruling.
The stance, however, could have an impact on Gibraltar as Brexit talks move forward. Gibraltar officials have repeatedly said they want the territory to remain in the EU.
