Latest news & developments
New provisions grant judicial police powers to Belgian tax inspectors to combat fraud
The law of 17 March 2022 regarding various fiscal provisions to combat fraud has recently been published and adopted. It includes new tax provisions that remove the existing legal obstacles for officials of the Belgian tax administration to participate in judicial investigations. This law provides for a new legal framework that allows designated tax authority officials to
VAT fixed establishment – Positive decision of the ECJ in the “Berlin Chemie” case
The issue with parent-subsidiary VAT fixed establishment The concept of VAT fixed establishment has recently been the source of litigation in several Member States. In those cases, tax authorities argue that a subsidiary is the VAT fixed establishment of its parent company. In Belgium, we have seen this growing trend whereby the Belgian VAT authorities
Tax reform night- and shift labor wage withholding tax incentive
On March 24, the Belgian parliament voted new legislation introducing a number of changes with respect to the night – and shift labor wage withholding tax incentive (and some changes to the other wage withholding tax incentives). Below we list the most important changes (The amendments will apply to remuneration paid or awarded as from
First call Interreg North-West Europe launched
The first call of the new 2021-2027 programme of Interreg North-West Europe (NWE), was launched on 22 March. The programme can fund 60% of a transnational project with 3 partners of 3 different NWE countries. The deadline for the first step application of this call is the 15th of June 2022. A grand total of
New expat regime in Belgium – Royal Decree published on the social security treatment of cost allowances
As indicated in our newsflash of 9 February 2022, the Belgian National Social Security Office aligned its position with the position of the Belgian tax authorities regarding non-taxable allowances granted within the framework of the new special tax regime. This means that the non-taxable allowances are exempt from social security contributions. However, article 19 of
Investigation period for direct taxes soon prolonged without distinction between an ordinary investigation and a fraud investigation?
A legislative proposal has been submitted to the Belgian Parliament with a view to harmonising the investigation and assessment periods for income tax and VAT. The proposal primarily looks to amend the legal provisions relating to the investigation period for direct tax matters. Currently, the normal investigation period for income tax is 3 years. This
Update COVID-19 and cross-border employment: agreements with the Netherlands, France and Luxembourg: extension confirmed
In our newsflash of 24 March 2022 we referred to the official extension of the mutual agreement between Belgium and Germany until 30 June 2022. We mentioned that, unless agreed otherwise, the agreements with the Netherlands, France and Luxembourg will in principle be automatically extended until 30 June 2022. This is now confirmed. Indeed, the
Board diversity: Gender quota at EU listed boards – Proposal for a Directive on improving the gender balance among directors of listed companies
On 14 March 2022, the Council adopted the text of the proposal of Directive on improving gender balance on boards of listed companies, which was pending since November 2012. This initiative aims to accelerate progress towards gender balance on boards of listed companies. Small and medium-sized enterprises would be excluded from the scope of the
