Latest news & developments
Circular letter on the mobility allowance and the consequences of the Constitutional Court Judgement
As described in our newsflash of 23 January 2020, the mobility allowance, better known as the Cash for Cars-system, has been annulled by the Constitutional Court (23 January 2020, published in the Official Gazette on 24 February 2020). Now, the Belgian Tax Authorities have published a short Circular letter clarifying the impact of this annulment
Executive pay landscape: Implementation of the Revised Shareholders’ Rights Directive (SRD II) into Belgian law for Belgian quoted companies
On May 6th, the Official Gazette has published the law on implementing the SRD II – Directive (EU) 2017/828. Part of the Directive will be implemented by changing the newly introduced Belgian Code on Companies and Associations (BCCA). The aim of SRD II is to positively influence the involvement of long-term shareholders and increase transparency
COVID-19 and cross-border employment: is Belgium heading for a “force majeure” approach with its neighbouring countries?
In our newsflash of 15 April 2020, we were pleased to inform you that the Netherlands and Germany came to a mutual agreement regarding a “force majeure” tolerance for cross-border employment situations that are impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Dutch-German agreement certainly embodies the recent OECD recommendations of 3 April 2020 (see our
COVID-19 #12 Corporate simplification: transitioning into a cost-efficient, substance-based and sustainable corporate structure
The current economic context highlights the need for multinational groups to realise savings, optimise cash movements within the group, rationalise management structures and/or reorganise their supply chain. Globalisation and also single sourcing of products (often only from China) made companies vulnerable for a disruption of their supply chain as has happened with many by this
New measures for open-ended public undertakings for collective investment against the consequences of the COVID-19 epidemic
Summary The Royal Decree of 22 April 2020 aims to protect open-ended public undertakings for collective investment (“UCIs”) against the consequences of the COVID-19 epidemic and in particular protect the liquidity of such UCIs. UCIs that are confronted with redemption requests of their units have to sell, often at unfavourable prices, positions in their portfolios
COVID-19 #11 Group contribution for companies in temporary financial distress
As the effects of the current crisis reverberate throughout the global economy, it is obvious that not every business or geography has been hit equally. The same holds true for companies within a group – and even for business units within a company. Absent a tax loss carry-back system in Belgian tax law (except for
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
