On 22 January 2007, the EU Commission announced that it had decided to refer Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) with respect to discriminatory tax treatment on outbound dividends contained in the legislation of the above-mentioned Member States (case reference numbers: 2004/4347 (Belgium), 2004/4350 (Italy), 2004/4352 (Netherlands), 2004/4353 (Portugal) and 2004/4354 (Spain))." According to the EU Commission, the above-mentioned Member States' rules restrict both the free movement of capital and the freedom of establishment provided for in the EC Treaty and the EEA Agreement as they impose a higher tax charge on...