Abstract EN:

As a corollary to the principle of tax payer's freedom of management, a parent company has to choose over a wide range of solutions to fly to the rescue of it subsidiary companies in trouble. The choice of the technical mean depends, in principle, upon the needs of subsidiary company and upon the parent company’s resources as well. However, very often does this choice obey more fiscal considerations? According to this, subsidies and renunciation of debts can prove to be attractive ways of financing regarding to taxes, although a new issue of capital may be considered as a more idealistic way of refloating anemic subsidiaries. The caring out from a parent company of less tax costly ways of refloating, brings out the issue of the ninth of the parent company’s freedom of choice and the scope of the tax inspection as such. It is however, commonly admitted that a parent company has the duty to "cure" its subsidiaries in trouble. Moreover, it also has the choice of the "medecine" to administer. As a result, the tax administration services cannot bear a judgement on how relevant the parent company’s management is. As a consequence, the tax administration services could not oppose the choice of the less costly method on the ground that this is not the adequate way to solve the problems of the subsidiary company. However, the freedom of choice of the parent company is not boundless. To avoid any tax vindication, the refloating of subsidiaries in trouble shouldn't be contrary to the ethics of business. Moreover, the choice of the less method should not constitute a misuse of law.