Tax changes for the Belgian real estate market
This Newsflash highlights significant measures that influence the landscape of the Belgian real estate market. Indeed, on 9 October 2023, the Belgian government reached an agreement regarding the Federal Budget for 2024. The current budget round was an important one, as the economic climate is deteriorating and this has an impact on the budget of
Reduced VAT Rate for Home Demolition-Reconstruction Extended, Excludes Developers
The Belgian government has announced an extension of the reduced 6% VAT rate for the demolition and reconstruction of homes. However, this benefit will now exclusively apply to individual homeowners. Developers, who previously enjoyed this rate under certain conditions for the sale of apartments and homes, will revert to the standard VAT rate of 21%
Interest paid to qualifying foreign EEA AIFs may now benefit from the Belgian WHT exemption
On 26 July, a new Royal Decree amending the Royal Decree implementing the Belgian Income tax code (RD/BITC) was published. The Decree includes various amendments, but one of the main updates was the extension of the withholding tax (WHT) exemption to Belgian sourced interest paid to foreign institutional Alternative Investment Funds (AIF). In principle, interest
‘COVID-19’ rent free period: a new tax credit for real estate owners
Several measures were very recently adopted (for some, they existed already and were simply extended) by the Belgian legislator through its Law dd. 2 April 2021 on temporary support measures in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these measures, an incentive is made available to Belgian taxpayers with respect to real estate (including Belgian
Proposal of 27 March 2019 introducing provisions on the basic banking service for companies in Book VII of the Economic Law Code
On 27 March 2019, a proposal of law was submitted in the Belgian Parliament aiming to introduce the basic banking service for companies. Similar provisions on the basic banking service already exist, but they only apply to consumers. The new provisions will be inserted in Book VII of the Economic Law Code. In practice, companies
Shareholder Rights Directive II. Financial institutions, are you prepared?
In May 2017, the European Parliament and the Council approved Directive (EU) 2017/828 amending Directive 2007/36/EC as regards the encouragement of long-term shareholder engagement (the Shareholder Rights Directive II or SRD II). The due date of 10 June 2019 for the transposition of this new Directive into national law is approaching fast. So far, the
Foreign real estate funds eligible for Dutch FBI tax exemption
On 23 November 2018, the Lower Court in Breda, the Netherlands, decided that a German Open-Ended Public Fund (represented by PwC) was entitled to the FBI regime providing, among others, for a 0% Corporate Income Tax (CIT) rate on Dutch source real estate income. The Court also ruled that the portfolio investment test (one of
Update on pending changes to the German RETT regime for share deals
The heated debate on the tightening of the German RETT Act to expand the scope of this tax to include sales of less than 95% of the company’s share capital continued with a meeting of the Finance Ministers of the Federal States on 21 June 2018. Although no formal draft document is available yet, changes