No longer lengthy, costly and cumbersome withholding tax procedures?
In the current environment, EU Member States often levy withholding tax on dividends and interest paid. Subsequently, this withholding tax paid may be eligible for a refund based on tax treaties. The procedures for such refunds can be problematic in practice and differ significantly per Member State. The European Commission has now proposed new rules in order to streamline and simplify withholding tax procedures in the EU. In addition, these rules aim to prohibit the abuse of refund procedures. The current proposal only applies to publicly traded shares and, where applicable, interest from publicly traded bond.
