EU Aims to Stop $10BN Double Tax on Cross-Border Investments

By Joe Kirwin

The European Commission has proposed new guidelines to prevent double taxation on cross-border investments in the European Union, estimated to annually cost companies as much as 8.4 billion euros ($9.9 billion).

The Dec. 11 guidelines are designed to prevent withholding taxes from being imposed twice on cross-border transactions—a problem that investment groups such as the Association for Financial Markets and the European Fund and Asset Management Association have long criticized.

“While a very important tool for protecting public finances withholding taxes can lead to a disproportionate burden on individuals and companies when it comes to seeking tax ...