European Commission v. Austria, C-328/20, CGUE (Second Section), 16 June 2022

Adjustment of family allowances and certain tax benefits granted to workers according to the State of residence of their children.

EU Regulation No. 883/2004

European Union law prohibits any discrimination in social security matters based on the nationality of migrant workers. Therefore, a mechanism for adjusting family allowances and certain tax advantages which applies only where the worker's child resides outside the territory of the Member State constitutes indirect discrimination on grounds of nationality which is not justified. Such a mechanism, in fact, essentially affects migrant workers, since their children are more likely to reside in another Member State and because, as it is often the case, the migrant workers concerned by that mechanism originate from Member States where the cost of living is lower than in the State granting the benefit, those workers receive family benefits as well as social and tax advantages of a lower amount than those granted to workers of the Member State granting the benefit.