On Tuesday, 30 September, the European Commission presented a common model for savings and investment accounts (SIAs) (see EUROPE 13657/31). The EU institution is recommending that Member States implement this European ‘blueprint’ when they create or adapt their national frameworks for this type of account.
Inspired by the best practices identified, the proposed model is supposed to be both “simple” and fiscally attractive. It aims to steer private individuals’ savings into investments that will help increase their wealth and finance the European economy via capital markets.
In concrete terms, the European Commission is recommending that these accounts receive “at least the most favourable tax treatment” already available for other savings or investment products in each country. The incentives can take different forms, such as tax deductions, tax exemptions, tax deferrals, or even the application of a “uniform tax rate”.
The EU institution also insists that these instruments be simple and clear: they must be targeted, transparent, and easy for retail investors, tax administrations, and financial service providers to understand.
Together with the additional financial education measures recommended on Tuesday (see other news), this is the EU institution’s second package of proposals in the context of its project for a ‘Savings and Investments Union’ (SIU), which was launched last March (see EUROPE 13603/5).
When Agence Europe asked about the choice of a recommendation rather than a legislative initiative, European Commissioner for Financial Services Maria Albuquerque considered [the former] to be a “much faster” route and stressed the need for flexibility in implementation.
“It is up to the Member States as long as they follow these basic features”, Mrs Albuquerque stated on Tuesday. “If Member States—and we heard that from all the governments—are supporting the objectives of the SIU, they should also be keen to implement this”.
Insurance Europe is urging Member States to include insurance solutions. In a press release published on Tuesday, the ‘European insurance and reinsurance federation’ welcomed the measures that the European Commission had presented. Nevertheless, the organisation laments that the recommendation on SIAs does not fully factor in the role of insurers, which are the EU’s largest institutional investors with €9.500 trillion in assets under management. Insurance Europe is calling on EU Member States to ensure that insurance products can be offered through these accounts.
See the European Commission’s proposal for a recommendation: https://aeur.eu/f/ior
See the experts’ working document: https://aeur.eu/f/iou (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit with Mathieu Bion)