Ruling Office – rulings delayed due to annulation of French-speaking Board members
On 28 April 2017, the Belgian Council of State annulled the nomination of the French-speaking Board members of the Ruling Office, due to a complaint by a previous Board member. As a result of the judgement, the Ruling Office will not be able to take any formal decisions before the Board members have been replaced.
Newcomers statement and obligation to prove integration – continued
Due to a technical legislative mistake the Belgian Official Gazette published again on 8 February 2017 (it was also published on 26 January) the text regarding the Act imposing the ‘newcomers statement’ and the obligation to prove integration. The newcomers statement concerns the statement whereby the signer pledges to respect and comply with the values
Important changes to Overseas Social Security System
The Belgian Federal Government has drafted a Royal Decree modifying the system of Overseas Social Security substantially. The changes will apply to the pension pillar, which constitutes the cornerstone of Overseas Social Security. The Royal Decree was scheduled to enter into force on 1 February 2017, but we were recently informed by the authorities that
New legislation on posting of employees adopted by the Belgian Chamber of Representatives
In the Belgian Official Gazette of December 20th, the Act of December 11th, 2016 laying down several provisions with respect to the posting of employees was published. This Act transposes the Enforcement Directive 2014/67/EU (“Enforcement Directive”) of the Posting Directive 96/71/EC (“Posting Directive”) into Belgian law and includes, among other measures, a number of additional
New dispensation to calculate the days of presence of Belgian tax residents in Luxembourg
Just before the summer holidays, the Belgian tax authorities have published a Practice Note (Practice Note AGFisc No. 22/2015 (No. Ci.700.520) dated 1st June 2015) regarding the amicable agreement of 16 March 2015 on the application of section 15 of the Belgian-Luxembourg treaty for the avoidance of double taxation. The agreement has introduced, from 1st
End of year is approaching: rules of the game for gift vouchers
One option to reward employees in a tax-friendly manner at the end of this year is to provide them with a gift, i.e. gifts in kind or in cash, or vouchers for books, sporting and cultural events, movies, etc. As a general rule, gifts are in principle considered as remuneration and thus subject to social
Indexation of minimum required salary for work permit of highly-qualified and managerial employees
In order to obtain a Belgian work permit for individuals in the capacity of highly qualified or managerial employees, a specific minimum salary has to be observed, as provided under Belgian immigration law. This minimum salary is indexed every year. Our office was informed by the immigration authorities of the Brussels Region about the indexation of
Possible adjustment to the tax-free amount for tax equalisation for foreign executives
The Belgian tax authorities have recently introduced some changes to the so-called “technical note” detailing the calculation of the recurring tax-free allowances in the framework of the special tax regime for foreign executives (which are limited to EUR 11.250 or EUR 29.750 per year, depending on the employer’s circumstances). In many cases, the most important
