FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement between Belgium and US will be signed on 23 April
On 12 April 2014, the Minister of Finance Koen Geens has announced the imminent signing of the agreement between the United States and Belgium regarding the mutual exchange of financial information and the implementation of FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act). The technical negotiations have been concluded and the agreement is finalised. The Minister of
BASC issues draft advice on the Belgian GAAP treatment of the Fairness Tax
The Belgian Accounting Standards Commission (BASC) was asked to provide guidance with respect to the accounting treatment of the Fairness Tax. The Fairness Tax is a separate tax of 5.15% (5% increased by 3% crisis surtax). This separate tax applies to a Belgian company (non SME) if: (i) the company has distributed dividends with respect
PwC comments on the Discussion Draft on Transfer Pricing Comparability Data and Developing Countries
PwC has provided the OECD with its comments on the ‘discussion draft on transfer pricing comparability data and developing countries’ on 11 April 2014. PwC agrees with the OECD in that comparability is at the heart of transfer pricing, and that the application of the arm’s length principle often relies on a comparison of the prices charged
Practice note issued in relation to Belgian fairness tax
As from AY14 (which are financial years ending 31 December 2013 or later), a so called ‘fairness tax’ of 5.15% is levied on certain dividend distributions made by large Belgian companies or by foreign companies with a Belgian permanent establishment, when the underlying profits have not been effectively taxed due to tax losses or Notional
Belgian VAT authorities publish new VAT practice note
The Belgian VAT administration has recently published a new VAT practice note n°14 /2014 dated 4 April 2014 (E.T. 120.000) on (electronic) invoicing. Said VAT practice note is retroactively applicable as from 1 January 2013. The VAT practice note stresses the importance for businesses of implementing appropriate business controls in order to guarantee the authenticity of origin, the integrity
BEPS Webcast – A focus on the digital economy, 17 April 2014
The OECD recently released its discussion draft focused on the digital economy as part of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Plan. In response to this draft, we will hold another webcast in our series of BEPS related webcasts. Please join us on 17 April where we will review the latest discussion draft
PwC announces publication of study on EU Customs Union
We are pleased to inform you that PwC has conducted a study for DG TAXUD on the Evaluation of the Customs Union during the period 2012 – 2013. The study includes an analysis and evaluation of the EU Customs Union based on the data PwC collected from business stakeholders and public authorities (customs and other
Reporting obligation foreign bank accounts extended
Last week the Belgian parliament voted an amendment to the Belgian Income Tax Code with respect to the reporting obligation of foreign bank accounts by Belgian individuals at the central contact point (“centraal aanspreekpunt” in Dutch/”point de contact central” in French) of the Belgian National Bank. As from the first of November 2014 the Belgian