A recent ruling by the European Court of Justice (Safir v Skattemyndigheten, Case C-118/96) has failed to give a clear principle on the subject of the taxation of pension funds. The case related to taxes on life assurance, but some companies had hoped that it would lead to a more general ruling that could apply to pension funds. Multinationals are keen to establish pan-European pension funds to make savings and ease cross-border personnel movements.
May 31 1998