News Archive

From 1 April 2022, haulage subcontractors may no longer apply a VAT exemption for the provision of transport services relating to an export of goods. The consequences of a judgement by the Court of Justice of the European Union (dating from 2017) finally go into force on this day.

In order to encourage companies to invest in cleaner (read: electric) vehicles, the authorities are gradually amending vehicle taxation by means of various incentives. December saw the introduction of a combined law on the fiscal and social greening of mobility.

The tax authorities want to get a better idea of business expense reimbursements to be borne by the employer. For reimbursements paid as from 1 January 2022, the total amount of all types of business expense reimbursements must always be reported on the tax form.

If a Managing Director or company shareholder allocates money to the business, the company can confer interest on this.

Every year, there are more and more expats in Belgium benefitting from a special tax regime. In the 2022 budget agreement, the Belgian government decided to limit the tax advantages for expats, effective from 1 January 2022.

For a long time, Belgium has had a generous fiscal regime for expat executives. The origins of the regime lie in an administrative circular from 8 August 1983 and there have been remarkably few alterations to the system since that date.

France does not allow import VAT to be handled through the VAT return currently. That will change from 1 January 2022. The French authorities have decided to implement an automatic reverse charge mechanism for import VAT. This means your company can avoid significant pre-financing costs.

Anyone wishing to do business in Luxembourg must fulfil a number of important obligations beforehand. Those who disregard these obligations may be subject to a financial penalty. But what exactly do you need to take into account? Our specialists have the answer.

Belgian companies belonging to an international group face obligations regarding transfer pricing documentation. During a tax audit, the tax authorities have been paying increasing attention to its presence. Good preparation is therefore a must.

On Tuesday 12 October, the Belgian federal government reached final agreement about the budget. The core cabinet adopted a range of fiscal and social measures. Rebuilding the economy after the COVID-19 crisis is given top priority.

Whilst homeworking is no longer the norm in Belgium, a number of employees who work abroad remain unable to return to their workplace.

At the beginning of July, the Belgian Federal Public Service for Finance (FPS Finance) published the tax return form for the taxation of non-resident natural persons for the 2021 assessment year (income year 2020). The return can be submitted either on paper or electronically. Here is an overview of the key points.

You want to attract and retain top-quality staff. Offering a competitive salary package is a highly important factor. We’re all familiar with offering raises, salary bonuses and other enticements – but have you considered offering insurance policies? These can be a great perk for your staff – and they come with tax benefits. We zoom in on the advantages of group insurance and hospitalisation insurance.

Do you have a foreign company that operates in Belgium? Then it is likely that a permanent establishment has been created in Belgium. Indeed, permanent establishments have become increasingly prevalent in Belgium since the introduction of the Multilateral Instrument (MLI) in 2020.

Belgian companies are required to report payments to tax havens in their Belgian corporate tax return if these exceed EUR 100,000 in value. In their circular of 1 September 2020, the tax authorities expanded this reporting obligation to include Malta and Turkey.

From 1 January 2023, the Belgian tax authorities will be paying closer attention to anyone providing goods or services (such as apartment rentals or meal deliveries) through online platforms. This is due to the adoption of the European DAC7 directive, which stipulates automatic exchange of information for all digital platform operators.

As a director of a foreign company, your mandate may include two separate functions, for which you receive two salaries. Specifically, you could be a member of the Board of Directors and at the same time have responsibility for day-to-day management. In today’s expanding “global village”, where international roles are increasingly common, it can be a challenge to identify exactly what income should be taxed where. Perhaps just in the foreign country? A nice idea, but sadly too simple...