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, the existence of certain legal constructions must be declared in the personal income tax return of the Belgian private individuals (founders and (possible/future) beneficiaries) as from tax year 2014 (calendar year 2013). The reporting obligation aims at informing the administration of the existence of legal constructions (e.g. certain trusts, foundations, partnerships and certain low-taxed entities etc.) The Act itself did not introduce a new taxation, only a reporting requirement was introduced.
The definition in the Act contains two categories of legal constructions that need to be reported. The first category of legal constructions in scope are the legal relationships whereby goods or rights are put with an administrator who will manage them for the benefit of a beneficiary or a specific goal (i.e. trusts). The second category talks about non-resident legal entities that are not subject to income tax in the country in which they are located or are subject to a substantially more beneficial tax regime than applicable in Belgium.
In the Act it was mentioned that a Royal Decree will be drafted providing an overview of the foreign (non-Belgian) legal entities (second category) in scope. This Royal Decree was now drafted and published. In the Royal Decree, the legal constructions of the second category which are in scope of the reporting requirement are summed up. A.o. the Luxembourg SPF is on the list.
