On 23 November 2007, the European Commission referred the Netherlands to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for not exempting the dividends paid to companies established in certain EFTA countries from withholding tax (C-521/07).

According to Netherlands tax law, tax on dividends is not withheld when a Netherlands company pays a dividend to another company established in the Netherlands which holds at least 5% of the shares of the company which pays the dividend. In contrast, the tax on dividends is withheld when the company which receives the dividend is established in Norway or Iceland, unless the receiving company owns at least 25% (Norway) or 10% (Iceland) of the shares in the Netherlands company which pays the dividend.

The Commission requested the ECJ to declare that "by not exempting dividends paid to companies established in Norway or Iceland from withholding tax on dividends under the same conditions as dividends paid to Netherlands