Inflation and taxation are increasingly eroding the real value of household savings and long-term investment across Europe. Even when financial markets perform well, many retail investors struggle to preserve purchasing power, as tax systems often levy nominal returns without adequately accounting for inflation, cross-border investment barriers or the long-term nature of savings.

As a result, taxation has become a key determinant of investor outcomes, retirement adequacy and confidence in Europe’s capital markets.

Recent research highlights the scale of the challenge. BETTER FINANCE analysis shows that long-term savers frequently face weak or even negative real returns once inflation, costs and taxation are taken into account, affecting not only pensions but also savings and investment accounts more broadly. These outcomes are compounded by fragmented tax regimes, double taxation risks and complex withholding tax procedures that particularly disadvantage retail investors and hinder cross-border investment.

Against this backdrop, BETTER FINANCE, together with its member organisation the Icelandic Savers Association, is organising the:

International Investors’ Conference

Protecting Purchasing Power: Taxation, Inflation and Investments in European Capital Markets

Date: 18 June 2026 | Time: 13:30 – 18:30 (GMT) | Location: Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre, Reykjavík + ONLINE

The conference will examine how the taxation of savings and investment interacts with inflation, market structures and regulation, and how tax policy can better support long-term investment, fairness for investors and the development of integrated capital markets.

Through keynote addresses, the presentation of original research and a high-level panel discussion featuring European and international experts, the conference aims to contribute to an evidence-based policy debate on aligning fiscal and regulatory frameworks with Europe’s long-term savings, investment and capital markets objectives.

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Programme

13:00 – 13:20 | Registration and Welcome Coffee

13:20 – 13:30 | Opening Remarks

🔹 Welcome address and introduction:  the relevance of taxation for household investors, savings and long-term investment in Europe and Iceland

Bolli Héðinsson, Chairman of the Iceland Savers Association, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Central Bank of Iceland

13:30 – 13:50 | Keynote Address | Taxation and Inflation-Adjusted Savings & Investment in Europe

Vilhjálmur Bjarnason, Economist, Associate Professor Emeritus University of Iceland, Former Member of the Icelandic Parliament

13:50 -14:10 | Presentation | BETTER FINANCE Research on Taxation and Investments in Capital Markets: Getting it Right for Individuals

Aleksandra Mączyńska, Managing Director, BETTER FINANCE

14:10 – 14:30 | Coffee Break

14:30 – 16:00 | High-Level Panel Discussion | Taxation, Savings and Fairness for Investors

🔹 Taxation of investments and savings across jurisdictions
🔹 Claiming of withholding taxes and double taxation issues
🔹 The role of taxation in supporting savings, investments and capital markets

Moderator: Florian Beckermann, Managing Director, Austrian Shareholder Association, IVA

Panellists:

Vilhjálmur Bjarnason, Economist, Associate Professor Emeritus University of Iceland, Former Member of the Icelandic Parliament

Daði Már Kristófersson, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Iceland

Nicolas Pinaud, Deputy Director for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, OECD

Magnús Harðarson, CEO Nasdaq, Iceland

16:00 – 16:20 | Keynote Address | Taxation, Capital Markets and Investor Confidence

Nicolas Pinaud, Deputy Director, Directorate for Financial Enterprise Affairs, OECD

16:20 – 16:30 | Closing Remarks

Guillaume Prache, President, BETTER FINANCE

17:30 – 18:30 | Networking Reception