The EU Savings Tax Is Probably Dead

Jeremy Hetherington-Gore, Tax-news.com, London

31 May 2000

The latest meeting of senior finance officials from EU member states once again failed to agree a common position on the stalled 'savings tax' issue, which is holding up the whole tax harmonisation directive.

This was the last meeting before finance ministers meet on 5th June, when they are supposed to agree a final position for the mid-June EU Summit to approve.

The Portuguese had circulated a draft report before the meeting, in the hope of finding some common ground, but the British remain intransigent on several issues. In particular, they want a 'sunset' clause setting an eventual date for mandatory introduction of reciprocal exchange of information not only across the EU, but also in other major financial centres. This is opposed by Luxembourg, understandably, and also by Austria, Belgium and Greece, as at the last meeting.

The British position remains calculated to stop the whole process, which is probably exactly what the Government wants.

The Luxembourg Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, in a masterly display of hypocrisy, is 'blaming' Britain for the likely failure of the process. Surely he should be praising Britain?

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