FATCA FFI Agreement Released
The IRS released today Notice 2013-69, providing guidance for foreign financial institutions (FFIs) entering into an FFI agreement with the IRS to be treated as a participating FFI or Reporting Model 2 FFI under the provisions commonly referred to as FATCA. This notice includes a draft copy of the FFI agreement, which will be finalized
Law on employment contracts – amounts 2014
Effective 1 January 2014, the salary thresholds set by the Employment Contracts Act of 3 July 1978 are the following: Statutory amounts Indexed amounts 2013 Indexed amounts 2014 EUR 16,100 EUR 32,254 EUR 32,886 EUR 19,300 EUR 38,665 EUR 39,422 EUR 32,200 EUR 64,508 EUR 65,771 source: Belgian Official Gazette of 25 October 2013 With
Costs proper to the employer – Belgian business trips
Costs incurred by an employee during a Belgian business trip can be reimbursed free of income tax by their employer on a lump sum basis, provided the amount reimbursed is in line with the expense rates applied by the government for its own state personnel. In a recently published Q&A, the Minister of Finance confirmed
Directive proposal for a common EU standard VAT return
We are pleased to inform you that the European Commission adopted the proposal for a Directive introducing a standard VAT return. The adopted proposal is based on the PwC expert study on the feasibility and impact of a standard VAT return, published on the website of the European Commission and being referred to in the
Tax authorities to focus on wage withholding taxes on directors’ fees
Similar to salaries paid to employees, director fees are subject to wage withholding taxes. To the extent that the wage taxes withheld do not cover the final income tax due on the directors’ fees, a tax increase will be applied. This will be the case for instance if a person has a directorship in two
Lump sum allowances for foreign business trips exceeding 30 calendar days
An employer/company can pay daily lump-sum allowances for foreign business travel to employees or company directors in order to reimburse their expenses. In principle, no tax-free lump-sum allowances are permissible for business trips of more than 30 calendar days. However, in the past, the Rulings Commission agreed that, under certain circumstances and up to a
Unified statute for white and blue-collar workers
First legal step taken by the Council of Ministers During its meeting of 27 September 2013, the Belgian Council of Ministers approved a draft act regarding the unified statute for white and blue-collar workers. This draft act constitutes a first important step in the legal enactment of the political agreement which was reached in the
Recent VAT developments in Italy & Germany
Italy: Increase in the standard VAT rate from 21% to 22% As from 1st October 2013, the standard VAT rate in Italy has increased from 21% to 22%. The new VAT rate of 22% is applicable to transactions for which the tax point occurs as of 1st October 2013. Transactions for which the tax point
