On 9 January 2007, the European Commission announced that it had sent Italy a formal request to terminate the levy of a withholding tax on dividends paid to parent companies resident in the Netherlands (case reference number 2005/4047), as it is contrary to the exemption from withholding tax provided for by the Parent-Subsidiary Directive (Council Directive 90/435/EEC)(the Directive).
The request is in the form of a reasoned opinion, which is the second stage of…