Tax litigation is an integral part of Tiberghien’s services. The Litigation team assists Belgian taxpayers during tax audits and represents them in negotiations with the tax authorities and before the various (inter)national tax tribunals and courts. Given the firm’s expertise in all aspects of material tax law, the litigation team can offer a unique combination of in-depth knowledge of both material and formal tax law. The firm handles all tax related disputes (personal income tax, corporate tax, international tax, VAT, Customs & Excise duty, inheritance tax, stamp duty, etc.). Besides regular tax controversies, the team also assists Belgian taxpayers in tax fraud cases.
Recent highlights include:
- assisting a major quoted international construction company in litigation about the tax-deductibility of EU anti-trust fines;
- assisting a Belgian bank in a dispute about notional tax interest deductions before the Court of Justice of the European Union;
- representing one of the Belgian Regions and several Local Authorities in a dispute with the Federal Government on the tax treatment of licence fees;
- assisting a major international telecoms operator in litigation regarding the qualification of site-rental payments;
- assisting a high-profile fashion retail company in litigation about the deduction of costs following the acquisition of a business;
- successfully challenging the first Belgian law on the tax for financial institutions before the Constitutional Court on behalf of a Belgian bank, leading to the annulation of the law;
- obtaining a landmark judgment from the Court of Appeal of Antwerp on the corporate tax consequences of the partial division of a construction company.