In the past month, the Commission has requested an end to discriminatory practices in the area of direct taxation. The various requests are summarised below:

Hungary _:

Fiscal provisions concerning the duty levied on the purchase of property. Those provisions discriminate against taxpayers whose purchase is preceded or followed by the sale of their previous home in another Member State.

Denmark :

Provisions according to which income from investment funds is taxed at a preferential rate if the latter fulfils detailed requirements that are very difficult or impossible for foreign based investment funds to fulfil.

Portugal :

Provisions according to which non-resident taxpayers have to appoint a fiscal representative if they obtain taxable income in Portugal.

Czech Republic and Italy:

Rules under which dividends paid to foreign pension funds are taxed more heavily than dividends paid to domestic pension funds.