Banking secrecy loses another piece in the European mosaic. Belgium, which has been without a government for a year, has decided to fully implement the 2003 European directive on cross-border savings. The law provides that deposits in the bank of a member state, where the depositor is not a resident, are taxed according to the tax legislation the nationality of the depositor. The directive, however, provides transitional provisions for countries that want to maintain banking secrecy: Belgium, Austria and Luxembourg (where, however, customers can choose between banking secrecy and application of the directive). In the absence of the exchange of information with EU partners, these countries are required to make a withholding tax of 20% on the current accounts of non-residents. Of this, 75% must be repaid to the tax authorities of the depositor's country. From 1 July 2011 the withholding will rise to 35%.
There are about 250 Belgian current accounts involved in this revolution of transparency. More than half of the depositors are of French or Dutch nationality, but 12 Italians will also be involved in the operation. Among the main credit institutions, Bnp Paribas Fortis, Ing, Kbc and Dexia alone account for 183 accounts.
