EBITDA Interest Limitation Rule: New Circular Letter avoids unintended consequences when obtaining payment holidays
On 5 May 2020, the Belgian tax administration published its Circular Letter 2020/C/62 on specific payment holidays negotiated in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. More in particular, this circular accepts that certain loans will not lose their “grandfathered” status in case specific modifications are negotiated to loan agreements so to bridge temporary payment difficulties.
The OECD releases its Transfer Pricing Guidance on Financial Transactions
The OECD has released its long-awaited final report on the transfer pricing aspects of financial transactions. The report will constitute the 10th chapter of the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines (as well as an additional section in Chapter I). It covers a wide range of financial transactions and provides guidance on critical aspects to be considered
Royal decree regarding significant changes on 30% EBITDA rule approved
On 10 December 2019, the draft repair act containing various changes to the 30% EBITDA rule has been withdrawn from the chamber leaving taxpayers in uncertainty on the application of the rule. However on 27 December 2019, a Royal Decree related to the 30% EBITDA rule has been published. The Royal Decree includes some of
Important update – Draft bill impacting 30% EBITDA rule delayed
The draft bill containing various modifications to article 198/1 BITC 92 (i.e. 30% EBITDA rule), has been removed from the agenda of the Finance Commission. Therefore it is unrealistic that these modifications will be adopted before year-end. The modifications included in the draft bill – and which are hence not adopted – include the allocation of
Draft bill involving significant changes on 30% EBITDA rule
On 26 November 2019, a draft bill containing various tax provisions was submitted to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives. Several upcoming changes are related to the interest deductibility limitation (i.e. 30% EBITDA rule) which was introduced in the 2017 corporate income tax reform and applicable as of 1 January 2019 (assessment year 2020). If enacted,
Circular Letter regarding the “grandfathering” provision included in 30% EBITDA rule
On 11 September 2019, the Belgian tax administration published a Circular Letter regarding the grandfathering provision that is included in the recently introduced interest deductibility limitation (i.e. 30% EBITDA rule). The 30% EBITDA rule includes a grandfathering provision for loans that have been issued before 17 June 2016 and that have not been “fundamentally modified”
Summer deal advances the implementation of the Belgian EBITDA rule by one year
In the context of its comprehensive political agreement reached last week, the Belgian Government decided to advance the implementation of the new interest limitation rule from 2020 to 2019 (i.e. financial years starting on or after 1 January 2019). The new Belgian interest limitation rule is the transposition of the EBITDA-based interest limitation rules included by
OECD publishes long-awaited public discussion draft on the transfer pricing aspects of financial transactions
On 3 May 2018, the OECD published a long-awaited public discussion draft on the transfer pricing aspects of financial transactions. With this publication, the OECD has reached another important milestone in the BEPS saga. As all groups have such transactions, the importance of the discussion draft cannot be underestimated. The discussion draft has been developed
