Protocol to treaty between Belgium and United Kingdom signed
Belgium and the UK have signed a second protocol to their double tax treaty. The protocol clarifies that certain amendments made by the first protocol to the treaty apply to regional taxes and to the communities. The protocol also confirms that
See MoreExchange of information agreement between Belgium and Guernsey
According to a communication of 11 March 2014, published by the Guernsey tax authorities, Belgium and Guernsey have initialed a tax exchange of information agreement (TEIA). Guernsey has recently been negotiating TIEAs as part of a commitment to
See MoreBelgium: VAT rate change in 2014
Belgium has suggested that it plans to raise its standard VAT rate from the current rate of 21% to fund cuts to the labour tax regime. The Finance Minister has stated that the rise would be agreed after May’s general election. The amount of the
See MoreBelgium: Reform of taxation after the May elections
Belgium's main political parties have agreed that a reform of taxation must be carried out after the May elections, to modernize and simplify the country's tax law. The Belgian Finance Minister has underlined the need to reduce the number of tax
See MoreBelgium 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
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