There has recently been concern internationally about tax evasion and fraud, and many countries have increased their efforts to trace income of their residents that has been illegally concealed in tax havens in an attempt to evade taxes. As a result of increased efforts and strengthened measures aimed at clamping down on tax evasion and tax fraud in Belgium, the Government is expecting to exceed its target for recovering evaded taxes in 2013.
There has also been concern about domestic taxpayers who under-report their income to the tax authorities. To further strengthen the fight against tax evasion, the Government is planning to implement a tax cash register system in Belgium in the hotel and catering industry from 1 January 2014 and those opting to use the system will benefit in return from a raft of fiscal measures aimed at reducing charges The burden will be reduced for occasional work, for contract work, and for overtime hours. The system will become compulsory by the end of 2015.
