With the “FASTER” initiative, international tax law not only gains a new acronym but also promises long-awaited facilitations in the area of withholding tax relief. Preparatory work for the initiative had already been underway in September 2021 when the European Commission published an Inception Impact Assessment in which it announced a directive to introduce a more efficient withholding tax system in the EU. On June 19^th, 2023, the European Commission finally published the proposal for the directive. This proposal essentially includes innovations in three areas: the introduction of an electronic tax residence certificate (eTRC), a common reporting standard, and different options for a quick withholding tax refund and/or relief at source. In the following, Theres Neumüller gives an overview of the content of the new regulatory initiative at EU level, analyzes potential challenges and problem areas related to its implementation, and examines whether the adoption of the proposal for the directive by EU member states would require adjustments to Austrian legislation.