On Thursday 8 November, the European Association of Paritarian Institutions (known by its French acronym, AEIP) and Pensions Europe called upon the European Commission to present an amendment to the 'VAT' directive to exempt all pension funds from VAT on management services, irrespective of the type of pension scheme or the member state in which the services are provided.
“The VAT directive has not kept up with developments in the pensions landscape. This leads to different treatment of essentially similar pension funds. It is time to update the rules to ensure that all pension funds are exempt and that they respect the principles of non-discrimination and neutrality”, said Aleksandra Kaydzhiyska of the AEIP.
Currently, the 'VAT' directive and the Court of Justice of the EU's interpretation of it treat pension schemes differently, depending on their form and place of residence concerning management services provided and do not give sufficiently clear guidance for hybrid pension schemes, the two organisations explain.
A modification to this effect would also, they argue, help ensure that Community tax law does not interfere with the social economy and that competition conditions are truly fair. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)