COVID-19 and cross-border employment: Belgium reaches agreement on “force majeure” tolerance for cross-border workers with the Netherlands
International travel restrictions and COVID-19 lock down measures, imposed by governments during the coronacrisis in order to “flatten the curve”, are pushing cross-border workers into a continuous home working scenario for many weeks now. Working days abroad are no longer an option. As stated by the OECD guidance, exceptional circumstances call for an exceptional level
Corona Premium of EUR 1.000 down the drain?
A couple of weeks ago, in full corona crisis, there was some media coverage regarding the introduction of tax-free corona premiums. In our newsflash of 1 April 2020, we mentioned the proposal of the Belgian Minister of Finance of a Corona premium of EUR 1.000. Employers would be able to pay this premium free of
Constitutional Court of Belgium annuls specific regime for income from the collaborative economy
The Belgian tax regime governing the collaborative economy was introduced by the Programme Law of 1 July 2016 and was (from a practical perspective) only applicable as of income year 2017. During its lifetime, this specific regime has been subject to various changes. Following the most recent changes (Recovery Law of 18 July 2018, as
Annulment of the Cash for Cars system by the Belgian Constitutional Court
As from January 2018, employees have the possibility to exchange their company cars for a mobility allowance – the so called Cash for Cars system. This mobility allowance is subject to a beneficial social security & income tax treatment. The main goal of the implementation of the Cash for Cars system was to tackle the
Taxation of severance pay – reference year: 12 months of taxable ‘professional income’
Severance pay From a Belgian income tax point of view, all payments made by a company as a result of the discontinuation of the work or the termination of an employment contract of an employee are characterized as “severance pay”. In principle, such payments are taxed in accordance with the regime of article 171, 5°,
Mobility budget (and changes on mobility allowance) finally entered into force
Last week, the Chamber of Representatives finally approved the draft law of the mobility budget. The idea of the mobility budget is (just like the mobility allowance) to stimulate employees who have a company car to opt for different means of transportation. Via this way, the government hopes to tackle the mobility problem and to
Benefits granted by foreign companies: Reporting and withholding tax obligation – approved by parliament
We refer to our previous headline of 22 January 2019 regarding the draft law introducing a reporting and wage withholding tax obligation in the hands of Belgian employers/companies, in case affiliated foreign companies grant taxable benefits to employees or company directors working for a Belgian company. The draft law is now approved by parliament and the measures
Draft law modifying the mobility allowance (better known as the cash for car) adopted at first reading by the Finance Commission
Last Wednesday, the Finance Commission has approved at first reading the draft law modifying the Mobility Allowance. The main goals of the changes are to increase the attractiveness of the Mobility Allowance as well as to align it with the future Mobility Budget scheme. The Mobility Allowance, which entered into force last year, is an
