Publications
ICLG Private Client Laws and Regulations Belgium 2023
Griet Vanden Abeele, Alain Van Geel and Emilie Van Goidesenhoven contributed to the International Comparative Legal Guide (ICLG) - Private Client 2023. This publication covers common issues in private client…
Publications
Chambers and Partners Family Law Global Practice Guide
Dominique De Bie & Carolyn Vanthienen contributed to this year's Chambers and Partners Family Law Global Practice Guide. They provide expert insights on numerous trends & developments in Belgian family law. Be sure…
News
Are the tax authorities ‘partying with you on stage’?
Many festivals have announced the first names for spring and summer 2023. We explain below the tax obligations for festival organisers with foreign artists on the bill.
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Amendments to Hong Kong tax regime not sufficient? Update of the EU list on non-cooperative jurisdictions
Last week, the ECOFIN meeting of the Council of the EU took place, deciding on an update of the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions (the “black list”) and the list of…
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Luxembourg double tax treaties update : UK, France and Germany
On 20 January 2023, the Luxembourg Council of Government took two different important decisions.
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Christophe Dillen joins the partners of Tiberghien
Tiberghien continues to grow and evolve to provide its clients with forward-looking services of the highest standard. It is therefore with great pleasure that we announce the appointment as partner…
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ATAD 3 and more: a brief update
In December last year, the European Parliament published a resolution on the proposal for a Directive laying down the rules to prevent misuse of shell entities for tax purposes (so-called…
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An informal gift by way of bank transfer in cross-border context: points of interest
The gift by way of bank transfer is a popular technique for making gifts to children or grandchildren. As this article will show, it involves more than simply transferring money…
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Pillar Two/IFRS Newsflash: IASB consultation on IAS 12 amendements for Pillar Two
On 9 January 2023, the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) published Exposure Draft ED/2023/01 which contains important proposed amendments to IAS 12, the International Accounting Standard dealing with accounting for…
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Belgian expat tax regime now extended to foreign non-profit organisations
On 1 January 2022, a new expat tax regime was introduced in Belgium that provides for a favourable income tax (and social security) treatment for employees, directors and researchers recruited…
Publications
Fiscal Federalism in the EU. A Dynamic Process With Multiple Dimensions
In 2021 the European Association of Tax Law Professors held its annual conference on ‘History and Taxation’. One topic dealt with Fiscal Federalism. This concept refers to the study of…
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Pillar Two - OECD’s Recently Released Safe Harbours and Penalty Relief Guidance : Solving key issues that MNEs face, or just a drop in the ocean?
On 20 December 2022, the OECD/G20 GloBE (Global Anti-Base Erosion) Inclusive Framework released, as part of a broader package[1], its Pillar Two Safe Harbour and Penalty Relief guidance document. Numerous…
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Belgium - Luxembourg 34-day rule to be approved before year-end
On 31 August 2021, Belgium and Luxembourg signed a protocol increasing the 24-day tolerance to 34 days as from 2022.
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Breaking: the EU’s Pillar Two Directive received required unanimous support
As mentioned in a previous newsflash, the EU Council published a slightly revised draft of the Pillar Two Directive on 25 November 2022. This was done in an attempt to…
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Partial VAT deduction applying to the real use method: major changes from 1 January 2023
Existing cases: notification required by 30 June 2023 at the latest!
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International Tax Update: The rise of the interest rate and the impact on valuations and transfer pricing
Behold, the era of free money is no more. This might be hard to digest for governments, companies and investors alike. After an extensive period of record-low interest rates and…
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Newsflash: EU Council publishes updated draft Directive on global minimum taxation (Pillar Two) in light of next ECOFIN meeting of 6 December
Last year, the European Commission published, as a Christmas present, a proposal for a Directive on ensuring a global minimum level of taxation for multinational enterprise groups and large-scale domestic…
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Luxembourg: interest free loan reclassified into equity – decision Administrative Tribunal
In the judgement n°44902 dated 23 September 2022, the Tribunal Administrative (the “Tribunal”) requalified an interest free loan granted by a parent company to its subsidiary into equity on the…
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European Court overturns public access to UBO register
In its judgment of 22 November 2022 (C37/20 & C/601/20), the European Court of Justice had to consider the compatibility of the UBO register and the fundamental rights to respect…
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Credit of foreign inheritance tax on movable property: the Flemish legislator amends, or not quite?
The distinction between movable and immovable property for the credit of foreign inheritance tax is contrary to the constitutional principle of equality. This was decided by the Constitutional Court in…
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UPDATE: Morocco postpones exchange of financial information, Belgian tax authorities eagerly investigate Turkish bank information
Morocco has still not conducted a CRS exchange as of 30 September 2022. Morocco has announced a short delay due to technical and legislative reasons. It is expected that Morocco…
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Luxembourg draft Budget Law 2023 announces several new tax measures
On 12 October 2022, the Luxembourg Minister of Finance Yuriko Backes has filed the draft budget law for 2023 (the “Draft Law”) with the Chamber of Deputies. In a difficult…
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Breaking News - Constitutional Court’s decision on the annual tax on securities accounts (ATSA)
This afternoon, 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.
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EU Court of Justice ruling on Belgian participation exemption regime in case of merger (DBI-aftrek/Régime RDT)
On October 20, 2022, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered a ruling on the compatibility with the Parent-Subsidiary Directive of certain aspects of the Belgian participation exemption regime (“dividend…
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Additional taxes for the Belgian financial sector
A little-publicized budgetary measure involving additional taxes for the financial sector could lead to a snowball of additional taxes on Belgian regulated investment companies.
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International Tax Update: Arbitration procedures between the Netherlands and Luxembourg can take off
The so-called multilateral instrument (‘MLI’) provides for a simultaneous modification of all double tax treaties which are considered by both signatories of the MLI as a ‘covered agreement’. The MLI…
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International Tax Update: BAPA manual published by the OECD
The OECD Forum on Tax Administration has published on 28 September 2022 a manual on Bilateral Advance Pricing Arrangements, namely the Bilateral Advance Pricing Arrangement Manual (“BAPAM” or “Manual”). This BAPAM…
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VAT treatment of Director fees in Luxembourg
On April 29, 2022, the Luxembourg District Court (“Tribunal d’Arrondissement”) submitted a reference for a preliminary ruling in the case TP vs Administration de l’Enregistrement, des Domaines et la TVA…
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Tiberghien has four new counsels since 1 July 2022
Tiberghien has recently appointed Katrien Bollen, Elisabeth De Nolf, Ahmed El Jilali and Gert Vranckx as counsel, thus building further the firm’s growth and innovation. With these appointments we acknowledge…
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Tiberghien has appointed two new partners
Tiberghien is known for its long and rich tradition and is determined to continue its successful path forward. The firm is therefore constantly looking ahead, scanning opportunities for future investments…
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International Tax Update: ‘ATAD 3’ Update: (Probably) a little more time to prepare and avoid burdensome compliance obligations for in-scope entities
At the end of last year, the European Commission published a proposal for a directive to "tackle the misuse of shell entities for tax purposes" (see our previous newsflash on…
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International Tax Update: Covid measures for social security applicable until year-end 2022
At the European level, it was decided to extend until 31 December 2022 the regime that the competent EU member state for social security does not change for teleworking frontier…
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BREAKING NEWS: Luxembourg and the United Kingdom have concluded a new tax treaty
A new tax treaty, which replaces the treaty currently in force, was signed on 7 June 2022 in London between the Luxembourg and UK governments (the “Treaty”).
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International Tax Update: End of covid measures for cross-border workers on 30 June 2022
:: UPDATE 21/06/2022 :: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of employees who used to work abroad have been forced to work from home. In order to mitigate the impact,…
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International Tax Update: New social security agreement between Belgium and Morocco
Belgium and Morocco negotiated a new bilateral agreement on social security in 2014. After going through the ratification procedures in both countries, the agreement will enter into force on the…
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International Tax Update : Tax treaties with China and Hong Kong to be covered by the MLI
On 25 May 2022, China has deposited its instrument of ratification for the MLI with the OECD. This means that this treaty will enter into force as of 1 September…
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International Tax Update: A proposal for a Directive on debt-equity bias reduction allowance (DEBRA)
On 11 May 2022, the European Commission published a proposal for a Directive providing for a debt-equity bias reduction allowance (‘DEBRA’). This directive is part of the Commission’s proposed measures…
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Luxembourg treaty exemption for the Annual Tax on Securities Accounts at risk?
The Annual Tax on Securities Accounts (hereafter: "ATSA") is applicable (among other things) to securities accounts held in Belgium, even if they are held by non-Belgian residents/account holder. Both the…
News
Will you file your first Belgian non-resident income tax return? Do not forget to register before 1 June 2022!
Individuals collecting income in Belgium and who qualify as Belgian tax non-residents, are in principle required to file a Belgian non-resident income tax return. Every single Belgian non-resident must fill…
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BREAKING: circular letter regarding expatriate tax regime has been published
Circular letter published Last week Friday, the Belgian tax administration published a circular letter regarding the reformed expat tax regime for incoming executives and researchers. This extensive letter aims to…
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Key Figures in Belgian Estate and Income Tax 2022
The continuing changes in Belgian Estate and Income tax, together with the growing discrepancies between the three Belgian regions, are generating a tangle of regulations that are sometimes hard to…
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115 account contributions and Luxembourg parent-subsidiary regime
Highlights On 31 March 2022, the Luxembourg Administrative Court of Appeal rendered a decision considering that 115 accounts contributions are not to be included in the acquisition price of the…
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Belgian reporting (tax) obligations for platform operators in anticipation of DAC 7 seem safe from an EU perspective
In our newsflash of 2 February 2021 (click here) we informed you that Belgium had anticipated the DAC 7 regulation and had already de facto transposed it into domestic law.…
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International Tax Update: (When) Will transfer pricing in Brazil be more aligned with OECD standards?
On 12 April 2022, the OECD and the Brazilian tax authority (Brazil's Receita Federal (‘RFB’)) met in view of a proposed new transfer pricing system, which would be more aligned…
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Legal cohabitants: Can your ex-partner claim maintenance?
No maintenance expressly stipulated in the law for legal cohabitants In a judgment of 14 March 2017, the Antwerp Court of Appeal awarded a personal maintenance claim to an ex-partner…
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International Tax Update: The Belgian tax slip obligation – no longer sanctioned as severely as before
Court of Justice decides In a recent judgment, the European Court of Justice addressed the obligation under Belgian law to draw up a summary tax slip for commissions paid and…
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Breaking: Ecofin one member state short of agreement on EU Directive on Pillar Two
In today’s Ecofin meeting an agreement was not reached regarding a new compromise text of an EU Directive on the introduction of Pillar Two in the European Union. Where at…
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International Tax Update: Stay on top of ever-changing local transfer pricing documentation requirements
The Transfer Pricing documentation landscape is continuously evolving, whereby recently, there has been an increasing tendency of various countries updating and strengthening their transfer pricing documentation requirements. Considering these changes,…
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Interest limitation rules: Tax authorities adopt favorable position for the Private Equity sector
The Belgian Central Tax Authorities have recently taken an important decision on how the ATAD interest limitation rules must apply in the private equity (PE) sector. According to that decision,…
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CBN guidance on (de)mergers with entities having negative net asset values
On February 15th, the Belgian accounting standards boards (Comissie voor Boekhoudkundige normen – hereafter “CBN”) published additional guidance with respect to mergers and demergers of companies having negative net asset…
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International Tax update: Fixed establishment through an affiliate company in Belgium? The Court of Appeal of Liège affirms.
Recently, the concept ‘fixed establishment’(‘FE’) for VAT purposes is the subject of many discussions and it seems that the saga will continue. In a judgement of 22 October 2021, the…
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Non-compete payment upon the ending of an international career... Taxation in the residence state?
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International Tax Update: Expense allowances granted under the new expat tax regime are exempted from social security contributions
A new special tax regime for incoming executives and researchers entered into force in Belgium on 1 January 2022.
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Proposal for new European directive: the end of entities with little substance?
On December 22, 2021, the European Commission published a potentially far-reaching proposal for a new directive. The aim of this proposal is to "tackle the misuse of undertakings that do…
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New Belgian special expat tax regime – who’s in?
A new expat tax regime for incoming executives and researchers entered into force in Belgium on 1 January 2022. Considering the change in the special tax regime’s scope, conditions and…
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International tax update: UAE introduces corporate income tax
Yesterday, 31 January 2022, the UAE Ministry of Finance announced the introduction of a federal corporate income tax (‘CIT’). For financial years starting on or after 1 July 2023, UAE…
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The Belgian ELTIF: ready for launch in 2022?
ELTIF introduced mid 2021 By the Belgian Act containing various provisions of 27 June 2021 (Belgian Official Gazette 9 July 2021), the regime of a European Long Term Investment Fund…
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International Tax Update: 'New' 2022 OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines: Bundling of earlier guidance
The OECD published today the successor of the July 2017 edition of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations (“OECD TP Guidelines”). This 'January 2022' edition of…
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International Tax Update: Belgian transfer pricing country profile at OECD.org refers to the latest Belgian transfer pricing circular letter, whereas arguably the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines are more relevant as a source of reference
On 13 December 2021, the OECD updated several country profiles and added profiles for three new countries (a second batch further to the first batch that was released in August…