2008 retention tax payments made to the EU Member States

​Jersey paying agents retained and passed to the Comptroller of Taxes a total of £35.62 million of retention tax for the year 2008. This is in accordance with agreements entered into with each of the 27 EU member states on the taxation of savings income that individuals resident in the member states are receiving.

Under the terms of the agreements, 75% of the tax retained (£26.71 million) is sent to the individual member states concerned and the remaining 25% (£8.91 million) is retained by the Comptroller of Taxes. 

EU Savings Directive retention tax distribution list

Supplementary information

1. When the EU member states implemented, with effect from 1 July 2005, a directive on the taxation of savings income, Jersey, in common with a number of other dependent or associated territories of the member states and 5 European third countries (Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and Switzerland), agreed to support the European Union by applying a withholding / retention tax to savings income arising in the Island, the beneficial owner of which is an individual who resides in a member state. Within the European Union, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg are also applying a withholding tax. The remaining 24 member states are exchanging information on savings income.
2. To give effect to their support for the EU initiative, the States of Jersey enacted the Taxation (Agreements with European Union Member States) (Jersey) Regulations 2005.
3. Under these regulations, the Comptroller of Taxes is appointed as the competent authority for the collection of the tax and its remittance to the relevant member states. 
4. The regulations provide that tax retained in respect of each year be transferred to the relevant member state within 6 months of the end of the tax year. For the first 3 years (July 2005 – July 2008) of the retention tax the rate of tax was 15%; for the following 3 years (July 2008 – July 2011) the rate will be 20%; and thereafter the rate will be 35%. 
5. The agreements with the 27 EU member states provides for the individuals subject to the retention tax to choose to opt for voluntary disclosure of information to the tax authorities of the member state of residence as an alternative to paying the tax. For 2008, those disclosing accounted for 57% of the interest payments covered by the EU member states (for 2007 the proportion was 55%). 
6. For the year 2007, the amount remitted to EU member states was £26.24 million and some £8.47 million was retained by the Comptroller of Taxes. Between 2007 and 2008 there was a small increase in the payments reflecting the increase in tax rate in July 2008 from 15% to 20% and offset by the reduction in average interest rates between the 2 years.
7. Some two thirds of the total amount remitted has been to Great Britain. The next largest 2 payments have been to France and Spain, together accounting for 13% of the total.