Tax Treaty Case Law around the Globe 2012

Netherlands: Exit Taxation and Pensions: Tax Treaty Override?

22.1. Introduction

Pensions are vital in order to be able to support oneself during one’s old age. It is not a surprise that pensions are high on the agenda in many countries, at the level of both governments and individuals. Many people are concerned whether they will receive a pension once they retire and if so, what the level of their pension will be. Current pensioners may worry whether, by and large, they will continue to receive their present level of pension payment in the years to come. Will payments be reduced if the required funds become insufficient due to demographic developments, decreasing solidarity, disappointing proceeds on investments, etc.?

One trend is that people migrate more frequently than they did 55 years ago. This is true not only for employees, but also for retired people and people close to retirement. A host of reasons may induce them to move abroad, one of these being the low taxation or even non-taxation of their current or future pension payments. They may try to make use of disparities between pension tax systems such as tax-deductible contributions to pension plans or tax-exempt pension rig...