Dutch Pension Tax Rules Under Fire From The EU Commission

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

06 December 2019

The European Commission has asked the Netherlands to amend taxation rules that it says amount to obstacles to the cross-border transfer of pensions.

The request concerns three sets of tax rules.

The Commission said that, first, foreign pension service providers have to give guarantees, such as collateral or a bank guarantee, to the Dutch authorities if they transfer pension capital to a foreign provider or if foreign providers want to provide services on the Dutch market.

Second, (former) employees have to provide guarantees if their pension capital is transferred to a foreign provider or if they want to buy pension services from a foreign provider.

Third, transfers of pension capital to foreign providers by workers taking up employment outside the Netherlands are tax exempt only if the foreign providers assume the responsibility for any tax claims or if the taxpayer themselves provides that guarantee.

According to the Commission, these conditions restrict the free movement of citizens and workers, the freedom of establishment, the freedom to provide services, and the free movement of capital, contrary to EU rules.

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