In December 2010, the European Court of Justice ruled in two separate cases concerning VAT avoidance through VAT leasing schemes. The decision of the Court in Halifax in 2006 led many financial institutions, advisors and tax authorities to conclude that the heyday of VAT saving schemes was in the past. The recent judgments appear to have refined the Court’s view on whether (leasing) schemes that result in a VAT saving, or a lesser VAT cost, are valid, thereby paving the way for new attempts to save money.