Vol. 410 No. 3
24 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance if the EC Council of Ministers have yet reached final agreement on the harmonisation of taxation of savings in the context of the liberalisation of capital movements within the EC; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Presumably the Deputy is referring to the European Commission's proposal for the introduction of an EC-wide minimum withholding tax of 15 per cent on interest income. This was not a proposal for harmonisation of the taxation of savings: member states, for example, would have been free to impose a higher rate on their own residents. The proposal was strongly opposed by a number of member states and, although it has not formally been withdrawn by the Commission, it is not expected to find agreement.
I take it that the Deputy's interest arises from the possible implications for deposit interest retention tax of Ireland's obligation to abolish exchange controls by end-1992 at the latest. This matter is under active consideration at present.
