New Act on sanctions and measures against employers of third-country nationals staying in Belgium illegally
On 4 March 2013 the Act of 11 February 2013 relating thesanctions and measures against employers of third-country nationals staying in Belgium illegally will enter into force. 1 – Context The Act transposes the obligations incumbent on Belgium under European Directive 2009/52/EC of 18 June 2009 providing for minimum standards on sanctions and measures against
TRACE Implementation Package announced by the OECD
After years of technical discussions, the Committee on Fiscal Affairs of the OECD approved the TRACE Implementation Package (“TRACE”) at its meeting of 23 January and presented it at the OECD conference on TRACE/FATCA in Paris on 12 February 2013. TRACE, which stands for “Treaty Relief and Compliance Enhancement”, is a regime to allow for
EU Commission adopts its new proposal for an EU Financial Transaction Tax: further details
On 14 February 2013 the European Commission has presented its “new” draft proposal for a Council Directive implementing a financial transaction tax (FTT) in 11 countries. The draft is largely the same as the original proposal released in September 2011 but contains some important changes. The draft Directive continues to have a very broad scope
Germany – New legislation on taxation of portfolio dividends and introduction of refund procedure – impact on Fokus Bank claims
Background In October 2011 (case C-284/09) the CJEU held that the German taxation of portfolio dividends paid to non-resident shareholders was not in line with the free movement of capital (see NA 2011-013). The judgment left Germany the choice between rendering all portfolio dividends (i.e. those paid to residents and non-residents) chargeable to corporation tax
Economic Recovery plan – Upcoming tax measures – changes to the secret commissions’ tax
Following our HRS Headlines of 20 October 2011 and 16 November 2011, the pre-draft tax bill of 7 February 2013 dealing with sustainable development provides an additional possibility to avoid the special tax of 309% charged on income that is not properly reported. This additional possibility can come into play when the following conditions are
EU Financial Transaction Tax: new proposal for a Directive published today
On 22 January 2013 the ECOFIN Council (EU Finance Ministers) adopted a decision by qualified majority authorising 11 of the 27 EU Member States to proceed with the introduction of a harmonised EU FTT through Enhanced Cooperation in their countries. Today, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Council Directive implementing enhanced cooperation in
Guidance from the Belgian VAT Authorities with respect to the new rules on invoicing
Further to our ITX Newsflash of 21 December 2012, we are pleased to inform you that the Belgian VAT authorities have published further guidance on the new invoicing rules. Practice note 2/2013 provides further insight on the changes to the Belgian VAT Code as a result of the Act of 17 December 2012. It combines
Economic Recovery plan – Upcoming tax measures
At the latest cabinet meeting, which took place on 7 February 2013, at the initiative of the Minister of Finance (Steven Vanackere), a pre-draft tax bill was approved dealing with sustainable development. This pre-draft legislation is intended to implement certain tax measures in the Economic Recovery Plan (Relanceplan) 2012, one of which is to increase