Catching the EU STD

It is a view that has littered the pages of International Investment liberally over the past year, but it bears repeating once again - what a mess the EU Saving Tax Directive (STD) is in. On 1 July 2005, every investor with an EU passport will have to go through all of their cross-border interest paying assets - especially bank accounts and bonds - and be prepared for not only a quizzing on their tax status but also for a decision: whether or not to exchange or withhold (see technical notebook on page 23 for details). It should be reasonably straightforward. If you have an account in a...