Allocation of acquisition debt: economic rationale is key!
In today’s tax world, having a strong economic rationale to support an entity’s leverage is key. In our recent experience, the tax authorities look at a company’s gearing in 3 ways: Business purpose test: what is the motivation for each entity taking a loan? TP principles: Is the interest rate at arm’s length considering the
Impact of BEPS on M&A – Why should we care?
The OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project (BEPS) project is the answer of the G20 to the current public debate around the use of privileged regimes. It is meant to define rules for a fairer and more equitable system of corporate income taxation. From an M&A perspective, it adds a layer of complexity and
Payments to Cyprus and Luxembourg: subject to new reporting obligation, screen your existing structures
Payments by Belgian companies of over EUR 100K (in total) to recipients in Luxembourg and Cyprus must now be reported individually in a specific form to the tax authorities. If not, they risk being non-deductible for tax purposes. Besides the additional reporting effort that this entails, it also sheds light on those payments which are
Advice Belgian ruling commission on use of GAAR in reorganizations
Since the introduction of the new general anti abuse (section 344 Belgian Income Tax Code) provision in Belgium, there was uncertainty on how the latter interacts with the existing specific anti-abuse provision in place for reorganizations (section 183bis Belgian Income Tax Code) Recently the ruling commission issued a new advice with their view on what to
