Heffingen op rente en royalties - Britse overheid gedaagd voor Hof inzake Gibraltar (en)

The European Commission has decided to send a formal request to the United Kingdom for information on the measures that the United Kingdom has adopted to implement Council Directive 2003/49/EC of 3 June 2003 in Gibraltar. That Directive, on a common system of taxation applicable to interest and royalty payments made between associated companies of different Member States, should have been implemented in all Member States by 1 January 2004. The request is in the form of a reasoned opinion, the second stage of infringement proceedings provided for in the Treaty (Article 226). If the United Kingdom fails to notify the requested measure within two months of receiving the reasoned opinion, the Commission may refer the matter to the European Court of Justice.

Directive 2003/49/EC prohibits the application of tax on interest and royalty payments in the Member State in which these payments arise, where the payments are made by a company to an associated company in another Member State. The Directive plays an important role in the elimination of tax obstacles for companies engaged in cross-border business in the EU. Taxes levied at source, either by deduction (i.e. withholding taxes) or by assessment, can involve time-consuming compliance formalities and sometimes lead to double taxation.

The Directive stipulates that Member States must bring into force measures to comply with the Directive by 1 January 2004 at the latest. The United Kingdom has notified the implementing measures that it has adopted with regard to Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but it has not done so in respect of Gibraltar. The Commission must therefore assume that the United Kingdom has not yet implemented the Directive in Gibraltar.

For more information on the Interest and Royalties Directive, see:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/taxation_customs/taxation/company_tax/interests_royalties/index_en.htm

The latest information on infringement measures against Member States can be found at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgb/droit_com/index_en.htm