Belgium: new agreement on Tax Shift
On 10 October 2015, the Belgian federal government reached a new agreement on the so-called “tax shift”. The tax shift is the shift from tax on labour to other taxes. The objectives of the tax shift are: To respect the budgetary engagements; A revival of the economy by creating more jobs; Reducing labour taxes to
Joint Committee no. 218 will become no. 200
On 1 April 2015, Joint Committee no. 218 will be converted into Joint Committee no. 200. All collective bargaining agreements in force within Joint Committee no. 218 will be transferred to the new joint committee as of 1 April 2015. The employers’ and employees’ rights and entitlements will thus not be affected. Employers belonging to Joint
Administrative cost charged for certain Belgian residence applications from 2 March 2015
The intention of the Government to apply charges for residence applications in order to cover the administrative costs was already present in the Program Act of 19 December 2014. On 16 February 2015, the Government approved a new Royal Decree, which becomes effective on 2 March 2015. Individuals who apply for Belgian residence will be charged an
New bilateral social security agreement between Belgium and Brazil
A social security agreement between Belgium and Brazil enters into force on 1 December 2014. This agreement enables companies to second employees to the other country while keeping them subject to the home social security scheme and guarantees equal treatment for workers living or working in the other country. This social security agreement – which
Telework: The National Social Security Office brings its position into line with the tax authorities
In the Practice Note of 16 January 2014, the Belgian tax authorities announced that a monthly tax-free lump-sum of EUR 20 as a compensation for the business use of a privately owned computer and internet connection (i.e. a total of EUR 40 per month) could be granted under certain conditions. Where for a while a doubt
OECD releases global standard for automatic exchange of tax information
Starting in 2012, political interest has increasingly focused on the opportunities provided by an automatic exchange of information between tax authorities. On 6 September 2013, the G20 Leaders committed to the automatic exchange of information as the new global standard and fully supported the OECD work for developing a single standard for automatic exchange of
OECD Publishes 2014 Update to Model Tax Convention
The OECD Council approved the 2014 Update to the OECD Model Tax Convention (the 2014 Update) on 15 July 2014. The 2014 Update was already approved by the Committee on Fiscal Affairs on 26 June 2014. The 2014 Update can be found here. The 2014 Update mainly reflects the work that was carried out by the OECD
Refutable presumption of self-employed activity for company directors finally transposed into Belgian Law
According to Royal Decree n°38 of 19 December 1967, persons who are appointed as officers in a corporation or an association that is subject to Belgian corporate income tax or non-resident income tax are presumed to carry out a self-employed professional activity in Belgium, which gives rise to subjection to the social security regime for self-employed
