Brussels, 26/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - The Council of the EU, on Thursday 25 September, adopted a decision authorising the European Commission to negotiate an agreement with Norway with a view to applying measures in Norway equivalent to European rules on the taxation of natural persons' income from savings (see EUROPE 9719). Norway would, then, become the first non-EU country to join the five other third countries (Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and Switzerland) which have applied such measures since directive 2003/48/EC came into force in July 2005. The intention is to put in place a model covering reciprocal information exchange, thus going further than the model negotiated by Switzerland on transparency.
Last week, the Commission published a report containing an economic study of how the directive is working and ways of improving the rules, for example, to better cover legal entities and financial products. It will adopt a legislative proposal, most probably at the start of November, incorporating a number of the suggestions put forward in the implementation report. (M.B./transl.rt)