Bolkestein Urges EU Ministers To Stick To Their Guns Over Savings Tax

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

11 March 2004

The impasse between Switzerland and the European Union over the implementation of the EU's Savings Tax Directive looks set to deepen after Internal Market Commissioner, Frits Bolkestein urged the EU to stick to its guns.

"The Swiss government is maintaining the position of trying to link the savings tax agreement to other issues," he announced, continuing: "The Commission and the Council (should) stick to their guns and ask Switzerland to sign an agreement without any further delay."

However, according to reports, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey revealed that Switzerland will be standing by the linking of the Savings Tax Directive with the signing of various other accords.

"In this way, banking secrecy shall be maintained as part of a balanced outcome which also takes into account Swiss interests," she explained.

At a meeting of EU finance ministers on Tuesday, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands announced that all of their dependent territories had agreed to implement either the withholding tax or information exchange options contained within the directive.

However, in addition to Switzerland, several other third party countries (Liechtenstein, Andorra, San Marino and Monaco) have not yet signed deals with the EU, which is a precondition of the legislation coming into force next January.

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