Company-provided accommodation – New practice note
Where immovable property is (fully or partly) put at the disposal of an employee or company director by an employer/company free of charge, the individual is deemed to be in receipt of a taxable benefit in kind. This benefit is generally determined on a lump sum basis, taking into account the deemed rental income. Clarification
Reporting requirement legal constructions – Royal Decree published
On 2 April 2014, a Royal Decree was published, listing up the legal constructions which are in scope of the recently introduced reporting requirement. The Act of Miscellaneous provisions of 30 July 2013 introduced a reporting obligation for legal constructions (trusts, foundations, partnerships, certain low-taxed entities, etc.) set-up by private persons. According to the Act,
Accounting Standards Commission withdraws Advice 126/17 on valuation of assets
As a response to the GIMLE judgement of the European Court of Justice (ECJ judgment C-322/12, 3 October, 2013 [GIMLE ]), the Belgian Accounting Standards Commission (ASC) announced the withdrawal of its opinion no. 126/17. The opinion concerned the valuation of acquired assets, whether for free or below market value. Following publication of the opinion
New tax on parking spaces in the Brussels Region
A new (environmental) tax on parking spaces will be effective as from 1 January 2015 (in accordance with the order of 2 May 2013 of the Brussels Region that entered into force on 5 February 2014). The tax is mainly applicable to owners of office buildings. The order limits the amount of parking spaces according
The IRS announced yesterday that it will treat 19 countries as having IGAs in effect.
On 2 April 2014, the US Treasury Department (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that jurisdictions that have reached agreements in substance with the United States on the terms of intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) can be treated as having agreements in effect until the end of
Creation of a Belgian ‘Regulated Real Estate Company’: an optional regime for Belgian Real Estate Funds.
Following the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (‘AIFMD’) and its Belgian implementation (below ‘AIFMD Regulations’), AIF Managers carrying out activities within the scope of AIFMD will have to file an application for authorisation before 22 July 2014 and will have to comply with the conditions imposed. As things stand today, Belgian Real Estate Funds
Recent Information Reporting Developments
The following are recent developments related to FATCA and other US and non-US Information Reporting requirements. Final Form W-8BEN-E Released The IRS released on 28 March 2014 the W-8BEN-E, Certificate of Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting (Entities). The W-8BEN-E is the most recent of the W-8 forms to be
Foreign business trips – Costs proper to the employer
Foreign business trips – Costs proper to the employer Costs incurred by employees during foreign business trips 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. As stated in
