WTS in Belgium

The European Court of Justice decided on November 7, 2024, that the levying of withholding taxes on dividends received by foreign insurance companies on their investments relating to unit-linked insurance policies can violate EU law.

The Belgian tax authorities (FPS Finance) announced that from 2 September 2024 multinational enterprises (MNE) and large domestic groups subject to the minimum tax for MNE groups and large domestic groups (Pillar 2) can start their Pillar 2 related prepayments.

The Belgian government submitted its proposal for a mandatory B2B invoicing scheme.

The Belgian government's proposed draft program law on the cayman tax faces scrutiny for introducing extensive changes, prompting concerns about its logic, potential legal challenges, and its perceived bias towards tax authorities.

It is our pleasure to present to you the second edition of our WTS Global Mergers & Acquisitions Newsletter 2023. Presenting updates from 9 countries with a focus on the international M&A industry.

The 1 January 2022 a new expat tax regime introduced in Belgium that provides for a favourable income tax (and social security) treatment for employees, directors and researchers recruited abroad or seconded to Belgium.

A common challenge in M&A transactions is to achieve a tax-effective interest deduction with regard to the acquisition funding.

On 20 December 2022, the OECD/G20 GloBE Inclusive Framework released its Pillar Two Safe Harbour and Penalty Relief guidance document. Read an article about the key elements of the transitional and potential permanent safe harbours from our tax experts in Belgium.

On Thursday the 27th of October 2022, the Belgian Constitutional Court has delivered its long-awaited judgment on the constitutionality of the annual tax on securities accounts introduced by the Act of February 17, 2021 (hereafter “ATSA”).

n the context of the latest budgetary measures, a decision has been taken to intensify the taxation of the financial intermediaries (banks, insurance companies and investment undertakings). The changes are therefore aimed at the entire financial sector.

The double tax treaty between Belgium and Luxembourg gives the opportunity for Luxembourg residents to lower the Belgian withholding tax rate of 30% to 15% and even in some cases to 10% for Belgian sourced dividends.

The Annual Tax on Securities Accounts (hereafter: “ATSA” – also known as de “Jaarlijkse Taks op de Effectenrekeningen”, JTER or “Taxe annuelle sur les comptes-titres”, TACT) is applicable (among other things) to securities accounts held in Belgium, even if they are held by non-Belgian residents/account holder.

The Belgian customs authorities’ administrative guidelines refer to the concept of “importer of record” for VAT purposes.

The majority of the Belgian corporate (statutory) investment vehicles subject to a regulated financial regime (either UCITS or AIF) can benefit from a reduced corporate tax base.

The ELTIF is intended to promote long-term investments in the real European economy (‘Europe 2020 strategy’).

An amendment to Royal Decree no. 31 has altered the guarantee requirements for a Belgian VAT registration of a foreign taxpayer with the appointment of a fiscal representative. These changes have entered into force as of 1 October 2021.

The ELTIF is intended to promote long-term investments in the real European economy ('Europe 2020 strategy'). The main objective is to encourage investments in the public domain in order to stimulate job creation, infrastructure development, mobility projects, but also investments in certain unlisted companies or listed SMEs.

The Belgian government agreed in the recent budgetary agreement on important changes for foreign executives falling under the special taxation regime.

In a recently published decision of the Court of Appeal of Ghent relating to TP (no. 2016/ AR/455), the Court decided in favour of the taxpayer. The case originated from an audit initiated by the Special Investigation Squad (BBI/ISI) in 2009. Considering TP cases in Belgium are scarce, it is interesting to see the court’s point of view.

In the present contribution, we focus on special rules which apply to dedicated investment funds.

The salary of a Belgian tax resident relating to days performed in Luxembourg is generally taxable in Luxembourg according to the Belgium-Luxembourg double tax treaty. The days worked outside of Luxembourg are then taxable in Belgium (state of residence).

Our summary of R&D Incentives provides guidance where such incentives are provided, and who in WTS Global can support you to gain from these incentives for your business or individually the most.

A new annual tax on securities accounts came into force on 26 February 2021. With a tax rate of 0.15%, the new tax applies to securities accounts holding financial instruments with an average value of more than 1 million EUR during a given tax year. 

The first web event of the Tiberghien World Tour 2021 on 27 May covered the Americas. For all those who may have missed the first event, Tiberghien & Tiberghien economics list the key learnings in their article.