WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3567/97 by Graham MATHER to the Commission. Commission communication on tax coordination (COM(97)495)
Date: 1997-11-13
Institutions: European Parliament, MATHER
Subjects: competition, data protection, deduction at source, exchange of information, fiscal policy, savings, tax harmonisation, tax on investment income

22. 6. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 196/7

With regard to the taxation of capital income, Point 19 III of the Communication states that (cid:145)every Member State
should either operate a minimum withholding tax or provide information on savings income to other Member
States(cid:146).

How  would  adjustments  between  the  minimum  withholding  tax  in  one  Member  State  and  the  standard

1.
capital income taxation rate in a citizen(cid:146)s country of residence for taxation purposes be organized?

2. What studies has the Commission undertaken to determine the cost of making such adjustments?

(98/C 196/12)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3567/97

by Graham Mather (PPE) to the Commission

(13 November 1997)

Subject: Commission communication on tax coordination (COM(97) 495)

At the Ecofin meeting of 13 October 1997, this Commission Communication was debated for the first time. The
document proposes a package of measures to tackle what it calls (cid:145)harmful tax competition(cid:146). The Council called
on the Commission to bring forward a new Communication, by 12 November at the latest, taking into account the
results  of  this  meeting  and  of  the  meeting  of  the  Tax  Policy  Group  of  20  October.  Ministers  unanimously
underlined their intention to reach political agreement on this matter at the Ecofin meeting on 1 December 1997.

With regard to the taxation of capital income, Point 19 III of the Communication states that (cid:145)every Member State
should either operate a minimum withholding tax or provide information on savings income to other Member
States(cid:146).

How would the Commission ensure the compatibility and comparability of data in such an information

1.
exchange?

How  would  the  Commission  guarantee  the  security  of  the  information  involved  in  the  information

2.
exchange?

3. What studies has the Commission undertaken to estimate the cost of the development and implementation
of such a system?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-3563/97, E-3564/97, E-3565/97, E-3566/97 and E-3567/97
given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(3 February 1998)

The Commission would like to draw the attention of the Honourable Member both to its new communication of
5 November 1997 (1) and the conclusions of the Ecofin Council meeting of 1 December 1997 concerning taxation
policy.

Within  these  conclusions,  the  Council  approved  a  text  on  the  taxation  of  savings  containing  four  points  that
might form the basis for a new proposal for a directive.

As  was  anticipated  by  the  Commission  in  its  own  above  mentioned  communication,  it  is  the  Commission(cid:146)s
intention to present such a proposal very quickly, in principle by April 1998.

The Commission considers it premature to comment at the present stage on the sensitive and delicate questions
raised by the Honourable Member.

The Commission is still reflecting and its position will be clearly stated in the proposal for a directive.

(1)  COM(97) 564 final.