Tax

EU Faster directive recognises the need for speed and simplicity

If implemented, the EU Directive on Faster and Safer Relief of Excess Withholding Taxes will make life much easier for investors, financial intermediaries and national tax authorities

EU Faster aims to make withholding tax procedures in the EU more efficient and secure, remove obstacles to cross-border investment and curb potential abuse. Picture: Getty

Lord Denning said in a 1974 court decision that “when we come to matters with a European element, the treaty is like an incoming tide. It flows into the estuaries and up the rivers. It cannot be held back”.

Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell said “I feel the need, the need for speed” in the original Top Gun movie. And now Denning and Maverick can be said to be of the one mind. Earlier this summer, the ...