The European Commission on Tuesday sent reasoned opinions (the second stage of the infringement procedure of Article 226 of the EC Treaty) to Spain and Portugal regarding rules under which dividends paid to foreign pension funds are taxed more heavily than dividends paid to domestic pension funds.
It has also sent requests for information in the form of letters of formal
notice (the first step of the infringement procedure) to Bulgaria about its
rules, under which inbound dividends paid to companies may be taxed more heavily
than domestic dividends, and to Romania and Bulgaria regarding rules under
which outbound dividends paid to companies may be taxed more heavily than domestic
dividends.
The EU member states have been asked to reply within two months.
At the same time, the Commission announced that it has closed the case against Luxembourg on
the higher taxation of outbound dividends paid to companies, as Luxembourg has
eliminated the discriminatory taxation.
"I am pleased to note that Luxembourg has changed its discriminatory tax
rules on outbound dividends" stated EU Taxation and Customs Commissioner
László Kovács, who went on to add:
"I am confident that eventually all Member States which still have similar
discriminatory rules will also amend their legislation accordingly."
Outbound dividends are dividends paid by domestic companies to shareholders
resident in other States.
Domestic dividends are dividends paid by domestic companies to domestic shareholders.
Inbound dividends are dividends paid by companies resident in other States
to domestic shareholders.
Free Tax-News
RSS Feed