Belgium and Jersey signed a TIEA
On 13 March 2014, Belgium and Jersey signed a tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) in London. Jersey has recent concluded a number of agreements on the exchange of tax information as part of its commitment to international standards of
See MoreBelgium’s cdH Pledges Election Tax Cuts
The President of Belgium's Humanist Democratic Center (cdH) has unveiled details of the party's plans to lower taxes for individuals and corporations. The tax reductions would amount to around EUR10bn. The party which is currently a member of the
See MoreBelgium reduces VAT on Electricity
Recent VAT changes in Belgium include the latest change in VAT rate for supplies of electricity. The rate will change from 21% to 6% and will take effect from1 April 2014 until 31 December 2015 with an option to extend the rate into 2016 and
See MoreBelgium – Resident companies must file their corporate tax returns electronically
On 14 February 2014 a royal decree was published requiring resident companies to file their corporate tax returns electronically as from tax year 2014. E-filing will be mandatory for nonresident companies as from tax year 2015. An exception will
See MoreBelgium requires foreign public transporters to register for VAT
Belgium is to require foreign public transport companies to register for VAT, and charge a proportion of Belgian VAT on the price of their tickets. From 1 January, non-Belgian coach and taxi drivers transporting paying passengers across Belgium
See MoreBelgium enforces electronic VAT return
The tax office of Belgium has confirmed that it is to require all taxable persons to file electronic VAT filings over the next year. Corporations will have to submit their monthly or quarterly VAT returns through the online portal of the Ministry
See MoreBelgian Finance Minister Preserves Savings Tax Perk
The Belgian Finance Minister has clarified that the 15 percent favorable rate of withholding tax, levied on income derived from regulated savings deposits, is to remain in place despite a recent ruling from the country's Constitutional Court,
See MoreBelgium changes Film Tax Shelter
Following consultation with business and parliamentary discussions the Belgian Council of Ministers has approved plans to modify the tax regime benefiting the film industry. Production companies in Belgium are required under the current regime to
See MoreUpdate of DTA between Belgium and China
On 27 January 2014, Belgium’s finance ministry announced changes to the effective dates of the Double Tax Agreement (DTA) with China. The finance ministry had previously announced that the agreement would come into effect on Jan. 4, 2014 and
See MoreRussia’s draft DTAs with Belgium and China
On 5 February 2014, Russia's draft Double Tax Avoidance Agreements with China and Belgium were tabled before Russia's Cabinet for its
See MoreBelgium explains 2014 Tax Audit Focus
The Belgian Tax Administration has declared the areas that will be the focus of its tax audits in 2014, to encourage taxpayers to correctly fulfill their tax obligations, and to increase voluntary tax compliance in Belgium. The aim is to increase
See MoreBelgian tax reform begin to emerge
In Belgium a consensus is arising that taxpayers should declare both their income from capital and income from labor in their income tax declaration. Advocates of this idea suggest that the income tax scale should be revised, to strengthen the
See MoreBelgium: Transfer pricing audits process
Likely high-risk targets for audits are highly leveraged companies, those with large tax losses carried forward, and those with fluctuating profits. Belgium has increased the number of transfer pricing audits and expanded the team of transfer
See MoreBelgium increases quarterly VAT return threshold
The normal rule is that VAT returns are submitted on a monthly basis in Belgium. There is however a quarterly filing option for smaller businesses whose turnover is below a certain threshold. The annual turnover threshold for companies
See MoreBelgium – Andorra DTA negotiations
Following a meeting on 14 January 2014, it has been confirmed that Belgium and Andorra will negotiate a double taxation agreement
See MoreBelgium: Simplified Tax Return
Belgium will extend the number of taxpayers eligible to receive a pre-completed, simplified income tax declaration; such tax returns will reduce and simplify reporting requirements for taxpayers. From the 2014 tax year the target group will include
See MoreBelgium: New tax rules on notional interest, small companies and withholding tax
The Official Gazette issue of 31 December 2013 notifies some new tax rules. The first measure aligns the rules relating to notional interest deductions (NID) with the judgment of the European Court of Justice in the Argenta Spaarbank case. The NID
See MoreBelgium: Rules for “self-billing” for VAT purposes
The Belgian fiscal administration has issued guidance on the application of a “self-billing” system for value added tax (VAT) purposes. The Belgian self-billing rules enable a customer to issue an invoice in respect of the supplier, for supplies
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