On Tuesday 10 December, the Ecofin Council unanimously adopted the FASTER Initiative on withholding tax procedures in the EU. European ministers reached an agreement in May (see EUROPE 13409/1). This directive aims to make these procedures safer and faster in order to obtain relief from double taxation.
“This is an important step towards deepening the capital markets union, as more efficient withholding tax procedures will encourage investment on the EU’s financial markets”, stressed Hungarian Finance Minister Mihály Varga during the public debate. “[These rules] will also reduce administrative burden and make it easier to spot tax fraud”, he added.
The directive will introduce a common digital tax residence certificate (eTRC) that tax paying investors will be able to use to benefit from fast-track procedures to obtain relief from withholding tax. Member States will set up an automated process for issuing these certificates to individuals.
Member States will have to transpose the directive into their national legislation by 31 December 2028, and the national rules will have to apply from 1 January 2030.
Read the full directive: https://aeur.eu/f/eqb (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)