New ‘60-day rule’ for pension funds: the practice note was published
Quick recap Since 1 January 2017, a specific anti-abuse prevents to benefit from a WHT exemption when the Belgian tax administration proves that the dividends concerned are linked to a (set of) legal act(s) that are not genuine and aimed, even incidentally, at benefiting from the WHT exemption concerned. Since 22nd January 2019, the fact
Lightning Chess, a way to learn the new Lightning Component Framework!
When you look at Lightning Components then you see that it is a heavy weight framework doing most of the work. Back in 2014 the available web standards did not deliver what was needed to build large scale modern applications.
Investment deduction for assessment year 2020 published
On 11 April 2019, the new percentages for the investment deduction, applicable for assessment year 2020 (financial years ending between 31 December 2019 and 30 December 2020, both dates inclusive), were published in the Belgian Official Gazette. In order to apply for the investment deduction, the taxpayer needs to comply with certain conditions and formalities.
Minimum director fee: penalty of 5% removed from Income Tax Code
The Corporate Income Tax Reform Act had introduced a distinct taxation of 5% due by each company (large or small) that does not grant a minimum director fee of EUR 45,000 (EUR 75,000 for a group of affiliated companies). The tax was due on the difference between the highest compensation actually paid and the required
Asymmetric debt-equity swap: Court of Appeal rules in favor of tax authorities
On 26 February 2019, the Court of Appeal of Ghent ruled on the income tax treatment of an asymmetric debt-equity swap. The Court decided that both the contributing company and receiving company have to apply the same value. In the case at hand, a company A had a receivable of 1000 on its subsidiary B,
Reduced VAT rates for online newspapers, magazines and e-books have been approved in last session of the Federal Parliament
As from 1 April 2019 reduced VAT rates for online newspapers, magazines and e-books are applicable in Belgium. The EU Council has agreed in October 2018 on a VAT Directive to allow the EU Member States to apply a reduced (or even 0%) VAT rate to electronic publications, in order to modernise VAT for the digital economy
European Commission announces final State aid decision on financing income exemption within the UK’s CFC rules
On 2 April 2019, the European Commission (EC) announced that the Group Financing Exemption (GFE) within the UK Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) rules is “partly justified”. The decision has not yet been published but a brief explanation of the decision can be found via this link.
ECJ on sale-and-leaseback: new and interesting development in VAT
Last week the EU Court of Justice handed down a very interesting judgment regarding sale-and -leaseback transactions. The judgment radically impacts the way such and similar transactions are currently treated from a VAT perspective in Belgium. Mydibel is a regular tax payer and the owner of several buildings in Belgium. Mydibel fully recovered the VAT paid
