Corporate income tax returns: extension of the filing deadline
Due to some technical maintenance on the server of the Belgian tax authorities, the electronic filing of the tax returns was not possible during the weekend. The Belgian tax authorities therefore decided to extend the filing deadline to Friday 3 October 2014 midnight.
Ex-officio tax relief – Extended application and clarification of the concept of ‘material error’
Within six months (as from the third working day) following the date of sending of the tax assessment notice by the Belgian tax authorities, taxpayers can file a tax claim in order to obtain a rectification. After this six-month period has expired, a rectification in case of surtax can in some cases be requested via
OECD Report on Action 6 – Treaty Abuse
The OECD published a discussion draft in March 2014 on proposals for addressing perceived abuse of tax treaties. The draft recommended extensive changes to the OECD Model Treaty together with suggested domestic law provisions targeted at treaty abuse or abuse of domestic law where the abuse involves application of treaty benefits. It also proposed a
OECD guidance on Transfer Pricing Aspects of Intangibles: Revised Chapters I, II and VI of the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines
On 16 September 2014, the OECD published its final and interim revisions in relation to Chapters I, II and VI of the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations. These revisions have been developed in connection with Action 8 of the Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting that is focused
OECD finalises guidance on transfer pricing documentation and country-by-country reporting
On 16 September 2014, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) finalized its guidance in relation to transfer pricing documentation and country-by-country (CbC) reporting. The final report is broadly consistent with the Discussion Draft released by the OECD on 30 January 2014, although it has pared back some proposals in response to concerns of
Notion of ‘vesting or payment’ of second-pillar complementary pensions aimed at being clarified by Practice Note
Article 64 of the Program Act of 22 June 2012 (B.S. 28.06.2012) has changed the tax rates applicable to lump-sum payments and surrender values of employer or company-sponsored pensions (i.e. second-pillar complementary pensions). The tax efficiency related to these types of pension plans results from the advantageous tax rates applied to deferred income. Depending on the beneficiary’s
Court of Appeal: VAT reverse charge – Penalties
A recent court case of the Brussels Court of Appeal again shows how expensive it can be for businesses not to apply the reverse charge and thereby not self-account for the VAT due on incoming invoices. Indeed, the Court ruled that proportional penalties are applicable even in the case where the VAT was fully deductible
EU case law – Discriminatory tax treatment of foreign real estate income
According to Belgian income tax legislation, individuals who own a (secondary) house or apartment in Belgium (i.e. a built property other than their own dwelling) and who do not let out this property, are taxable on the indexed deemed rental income of the property (also known as “kadastraal inkomen” / “revenu cadastral”, which is significantly
