European Union – Value added tax. Council Directive (EC) 2006/112 should be interpreted as meaning that the letting of a building by a holding company to its subsidiary amounted to 'involvement in the management' of that subsidiary, which had to be considered to be an economic activity, within the meaning of art 9(1) of that directive, giving rise to the right to deduct the VAT on the expenditure incurred by the company for the purpose of acquiring shares in that subsidiary, where that supply of services was made on a continuing basis, was carried out for consideration and was taxed, meaning that the letting was not exempt, and there was a direct link between the service rendered by the supplier and the consideration received from the beneficiary. The Court of Justice of the European Union so held in a preliminary ruling in proceedings concerning the deductibility of VAT paid by the applicant company in respect of expenditure relating to the acquisition of securities.