Dividend Withholding Tax Levied on Investment Funds: Aberdeen and its Implications in France

In Aberdeen the ECJ found that it was a violation of the freedom of establishment to exempt dividends paid domestically from withholding tax, while charging withholding tax on similar dividends paid to a parent company (open-ended investment company) resident in another Member State. In this note the authors examine the decision and the opportunities it presents for investment funds to claim a withholding tax refund in association with investments in France.