Cross-border EU charitable donations are now tax deductible across all member states, according to a judgment by the European Court of Justice. That is as long as the purposes of the recipient charity would be recognised in the taxpayers' member state and it is properly supervised in accordance with that state's requirements. The move follows the opinion of the advocate general, released by the ECJ in October last year. Withers, international law firm, says the judgment should lead to a sea-change in fundraising for many UK charities. Up until now, UK law has only allowed donations made to UK charities to benefit from tax relief, with many European states adopting the same approach. But the ECJ decision issued today in the case Hein Persche v Finanzamt Ledenscheid, states that such a stance is contrary to the principles of free movement of capital. Head of international philanthropy at Withers, Clive Cutbill, said the decision should have ramifications for charities, donors and tax authorities across the EU. 'Revenue & Customs will now have to look at the practical implementation of today's ruling and the government must now take seriously the directions which the European Commission gave it several years ago. 'Until now, there was no case law on cross-border donation but the impact of today's judgment cannot be ignored and the UK will have to amend legislation as appropriate,' he said.