Maintenance of Bank Secrecy Laws and The EU Withholding Tax
Some countries agreed to fully comply with the EU Savings Directive by disclosing the names of their account holders and the interest that they earned. However, several other EU and non-EU countries, such as Switzerland, objected to the disclosure of account holders' names on the grounds that such a disclosure would be contrary to their bank secrecy laws. Bank secrecy laws prevent the disclosure of information about account holders, their assets, and their interest or other income.
Finally an agreement was struck with the objecting countries. The objecting countries achieved agreement from the EC that no further attempt would be made to commence negotiations regarding bank secrecy rules for at least 7 years, in return for which individual account holders could, if they so wished, voluntarily elect to waive bank secrecy and authorise disclosure. Those individuals who did not make any election would see a withholding tax deducted from their bank and bond interest. To avoid the withholding tax, certain types of individuals could also prove that they were exempt from taxation in their country of residence. Exempt individuals include certain diplomats and others with a special tax status in their country of residence.
Accordingly, in order to guarantee privacy and bank secrecy for EU residents who have accounts within certain territories such as Switzerland, a withholding tax of 35% is being levied on the interest earned by those EU residents. This withholding tax, which applies only to certain interest, such as bank deposit interest and bond interest, is passed on anonymously to the EU countries concerned, and is known informally as the EU Withholding Tax.
Read more about this topic: European Union Withholding Tax
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“When it comes to finances, remember that there are no withholding taxes on the wages of sin.”
—Mae West (1892–1980)
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—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)