The European Commission has referred Belgium to the EU's Court of Justice for purported discriminatory taxation of foreign investment companies. Under Belgian law, domestic investment companies do not in practice pay tax on their Belgian-sourced interest and dividend income as they get a refund of Belgian withholding taxes paid on their Belgian-sourced interest and dividend income. However, foreign investment companies pay withholding taxes of 15 or 25% on their Belgian-sourced interest and dividend income and cannot claim a refund.

The Commission considers that the Belgian provisions restrict the free movement of capital and the freedom of establishment in breach of Articles 49, 54 and 63 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and with the corresponding Articles 31, 34 and 40 of the European Economic Agreement.

Belgium was also referred to the EU's Court of Justice for alleged discriminatory taxation of certain Icelandic and Norwegian collective investment funds. Belgium does not grant an exemption from capital gains tax for sales of shares from certain collective investment funds established in Iceland and Norway whereas it does grant such exemptions in the case of shares from equivalent collective investment funds established elsewhere in the EU.

The Commission considers that this difference in treatment limits the free movement of capital guaranteed by Article 40 of the European Economic Agreement (EEA) and the freedom to provide services guaranteed by Article 36 of the same Agreement.