The EU Directive on Faster and Safer Tax Relief of Excess Withholding Taxes (FASTER) was formally approved at the end of 2024 and aims to make withholding tax refund procedures in the EU more efficient and secure. The Directive will become applicable on 1 January 2030 and will introduce two accelerated relief procedures: “relief at source” and “quick refund”.
2. Obligations Placed upon EU Financial Institutions
3. Can Swiss Financial Institutions Join FASTER?
4. Impacts on Existing Tax Reclaim Services Offered by Swiss Banks
5. Time to Reform the Swiss Withholding Tax Refund Procedure
Investors, and in particular non-institutional ones such as small businesses and individuals, often do not claim reduced withholding tax (WHT) rates on their investment income. The reasons are well-known and include complex procedures (still largely paper-based), cost of professional advice and lengthy processing times. The current withholding tax rate applicable to dividends and interest are shown in Table 1 for key European Union (EU) Member States.
Table 1: Stan
