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International Tax update: Tiberghien World Tour PART I - AMERICAS
Last week, on 27 May 2021, we organized the first of four free interactive web events of our Tiberghien World Tour 2021. In these events, local experts of our WTS…
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International Tax update: European Commission’s view on business taxation in the 21th century
On May 18, 2021, the European Commission announced its vision on “Business Taxation for the 21st century”. It did so by means of a Communication to the European Parliament and…
News
EU General Court judgements: Engie received illegal state aid, Amazon did not
On 12 May 2021, the EU General Court delivered two judgements relating to appeals made against the EU Commission’s decisions taken back in 2017 and 2018. In these decisions, the…
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International Tax update: Unexpected tax exposure for companies due to home office abroad?
As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, many cross-border workers are working from their home office, which is not necessarily located in the same country as their employer’ office. Also…
News
New e-commerce VAT rules as from 1 July 2021: Watch out for double taxation on e-sales of imported goods with a value exceeding € 150
As from 1 July 2021, the e-commerce VAT package enters into force. As a result, online sales to private individuals will generally be subject to VAT in the EU Member…
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The CSSF has published a circular on teleworking for supervised entities in a non-pandemic situation
On 9 April 2021, the Luxembourg's financial sector supervisory authority (Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier - "CSSF") published CSSF Circular 21/769 on “Governance and security requirements for Supervised Entities…
Events
Tiberghien World Tour: Asia-Pacific (web event)
Events
Tiberghien World Tour: Middle East & Africa (web event)
Events
Tiberghien World Tour: Americas (web event)
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Tiberghien International Tax update: Wake-up call: European Parliament demands EU to take appropriate action in taxing the digital economy
On April 29th the European Parliament (“EP”) adopted its resolution “on digital taxation: OECD negotiations, tax residency of digital companies and a possible European Digital Tax”. The EP again reiterates…
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Tiberghien International Tax update: New withholding tax rules on UK sourced interest and royalty payments as from 1 June 2021
With the expiry of the Brexit transition period as of 1 January 2021, the United Kingdom is no longer bound by EU law, including the Interest and Royalties Directive (hereafter…
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An active UN adopts new UN model treaty provision regarding income from automated digital services
The UN has recently been very active in the area of taxation. On 20 April, the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters agreed to adopting a…
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Key Figures in Belgian Estate and Income Tax 2021
The continuing changes in Belgian Estate and Income tax, together with the growing discrepancies between the three Belgian regions, are generating a tangle of regulations that are sometimes hard to…
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Are tax authorities allowed to exclude persons from forming a VAT group? The European Court of Justice enlightens us again
Decision of the Court On April 15, 2021, the European Court of Justice issued its ruling in the case C-868/19 “M-GmbH” on the scope of the VAT group provisions. In…
News
Luxembourg clarifies financial assistance rules for private limited liability companies (SARL)
Draft bill N°7791, submitted to the Luxembourg Parliament (Chambre des Députés) on 16 March 2020, proposes to amend article 1500-7 of the law of 10 August 1915 on commercial companies,…
News
The Belgium / Luxembourg 24 day-rule: update
Belgian tax resident working in Luxembourg If a Belgian tax resident works in Luxembourg, the question arises where the Luxembourgish salary is taxable. This may be relevant considering the lower…
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The OECD’s Discussion draft on changing the Commentary on Article 9 (and others)
Article 9 of the OECD Model Tax Convention deals with the (distribution of) taxation (rights in respect) of transactions between associated enterprises. The OECD now proposes changes to the Commentary…
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Can MLI arbitration finally kick off?
First competent authority agreement regarding MLI arbitration published The Multilateral convention to implement tax treaty related measures to prevent base erosion and profit shifting (‘MLI’) provides the possibility for a…
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E-commerce: Avoid VAT compliance obligations abroad and register now for the One Stop Shop (OSS)
From 1 July 2021, companies selling goods via web shops will have to deal with foreign VAT and the related obligations much sooner when selling goods to private individuals in…
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New EU tax transparency rules for digital platform operators officially adopted and published: DAC 7 enters into force in 2023
The European Union Member States agreed to a new measure to tackle the challenges they face when taxing the digital economy. One of the crucial elements for this to succeed…
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Covid-19 Telework: how to mitigate the fiscal impact?
Due to the Covid-19 government measures, most employees work mainly from their home offices from March 2020 onwards.
Publications
Overview of Digital Platform Reporting Obligations in the EU
After our publication on Belgium’s digital platforms reporting obligations (which you may read here), the WTS Global Digital Tax Law Center has analyzed whether other EU Member States have implemented…
News
Real estate abroad - fulfil your legal obligations in time!
On 11 February 2021, a draft bill was approved by the Belgian parliament amending the tax treatment of real estate located abroad. With this bill, the Belgian legislator aims to…
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VAT on making cars available to employees: a headache ahead for cross border employers?
On February 11, 2021, the Luxembourg VAT authorities issued a circular with respect to the treatment applicable to making cars available to employees. The Circular offers clarifications upon the judgment…
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Further clarifications on the exemption introduced for bonuses granted to employees
The 2021 budget law dated 19 December 2020 (the “Law”) added a §13a to article 115 of the Luxembourg Income Tax Law (“LITL”). This measure introduces a new tax regime…
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Constitutional Court questions the application of the cayman tax to trusts
Previously, in its judgment of 11 March 2020 (A.R. no. 2018/4033/A unpublished)1, the Brussels court of first instance approved an agreement between the Belgium-resident founder of a Canadian trust and…
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Draft bill to deny the deduction of interest and royalty payments to blacklisted countries as of 1 March 2021 has been passed.
The draft bill published on 30 March 2020 and introducing measures to deny the tax deduction of interest and royalty due to affiliated parties established in a blacklisted jurisdiction has…
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FIDAL joins WTS Global in France
Tiberghien is pleased to announce a new development within the WTS Global network: since January 2021, the leading French law firm, FIDAL, has joined WTS Global. (read press release) This…
Publications
Real Estate Guide 2020
The WTS Global experts are happy to present to you the fifth edition of the Real Estate Investment Guide. As usual, the guide provides you with a comprehensive overview of…
Info COVID-19
What about import duties for the supply of medical devices?
In the light of decision 2020/491, the European Commission provides, next to the (temporarily) exemption of VAT for certain medical devices, an exemption of import duties that normally apply for…
News
Belgium anticipates DAC 7: New Belgian reporting obligations for digital platforms facilitating the provision of services
General Digital ‘collaboration’ platforms that connect suppliers of services to their customers are subject to new reporting obligations. These were introduced because many service providers (including Airbnb providers) allegedly do…
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A Circular on interest limitation rules has been issued by the Luxembourg tax authorities
A new circular LIR 168bis/1 (the “Circular”), dated 8 January 2021, was published by the Luxembourg tax authorities on 8 January 2021. This Circular aims to clarify the interpretation and…
Publications
International Comparative Legal Guide - Private Client Laws and Regulations 2021
The International Comparative Legal Guide - Private Client covers common issues in private client laws – including pre-entry tax planning, connection factors, taxation issues on inward investment, succession planning, trusts…
Publications
Tiberghien comments on the OECD Blueprints on Pillar One and Pillar Two
Commenting on the OECD 'Blueprints' published on Monday 12 October, Koen Morbée, partner at Tiberghien Lawyers, and Andy Neuteleers, partner at Tiberghien Economics, urged the OECD Centre for Tax Policy…
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HR tax & transfer pricing: an unexpected journey
Tiberghien and Tiberghien economics work together on HR tax and transfer pricing, which are two distinct fiscally- and economically-inspired disciplines that have more interaction than is often realised at first…
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A new chapter in the UBO register saga: the Royal Decree of 23 September 2020
The implementation of the Belgian UBO register has turned into a real saga. The deadline for the first registration has been postponed up to three times (although the last time…
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Year-end transfer pricing adjustments and their impact on customs & VAT
As the end of 2020 fast approaches, we notice that many multinational companies during the coming weeks/months often perform an annual assessment of transfer prices. The key question asked is:…
Publications
Taxation of Crypto Assets
Taxation of Crypto Assets begins with an overview of the technology and characteristics of crypto assets as well as the key tax concepts and types of taxes that could apply…
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Luxembourg – France double tax treaty : clarifications on the 29-day threshold
A Circular L.G. – Conv. D.I. n°61 (“the Circular”) has been issued by the Luxembourg tax authorities on 21 October 2020 bringing some clarifications on the point 3 of the…
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Luxembourg draft Budget Law 2021 announces several new tax measures
The Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna has filed on 14 October 2020 with the Chamber of Deputies the draft budget law for 2021. This draft bill introduces several new tax…
Publications
Private client law in Belgium: overview and Q&A
This extensive Q&A gives a high level overview of tax; tax residence; inheritance tax; buying property; wills and estate management; succession regimes; intestacy; trusts; charities; co-ownership; familial relationships; minority and…
News
T/A economics becomes TIBERGHIEN ECONOMICS
A NEW, YET FAMILIAR BRAND TO UNDERSCORE OUR HOLISTIC VIEW ON OUR CLIENT'S CHALLENGES AND ASPIRATIONS. We are excited to announce that, as per 1 October 2020, T/A economics will…
Events
Webinar – Post-COVID reality: How to manage the risk of double taxation
Publications
The Transfer Pricing Law Review - Chapter 2: Belgium
Although the arm’s-length principle, which forms the basis of the framework of transfer pricing rules, has had a long international history, it was only explicitly introduced into Belgian legislation in…
Publications
European law restrictions on the temporal effect of national juidicial decisions: the case of the Belgian Constitutional Court
The Belgian Constitutional Court is a court of law watching over the observance of the Constitution by the legislative authorities of Belgium. It has the power to annul, to declare…
News
Luxembourg introduces register for trusts and fiduciary arrangements
A new Luxembourg law (the “Trusts Register Law”), dated 10 July 2020, was published on 13 July 2020 and is in force since 17 July 2020.
News
Luxembourg to postpone DAC6 and DAC2 reporting deadlines
On 4 June 2020, the Luxembourg government announced that the negotiations on the European Commission proposal1 for a directive amending Council Directive 2011/16/EU dated 15 February 2011 that aims to postpone…
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The ECJ takes positive decision on Italian FTT
In its decision of 30 April 2020, dealing with the Italian Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that there is no violation of the…
News
Is the 18% of withholding tax on income paid to foreign artists and sportspersons no longer due?
On 13 May 2020, the Belgian political party, CD&V, submitted a draft bill to relax the 18% final withholding tax regime on income paid to foreign artists and sportspersons.
Info COVID-19
The value of the underlying shares has decreased (materially), resulting in the stock options being “under water”, meaning it is currently not interesting to exercise the stock options. What can we do?
A first possibility is to extend the exercise period of the stock options. Depending on the significance of the decrease of stock value, however, such an extension, potentially, needs to…
Info COVID-19
Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, is it interesting to introduce a stock option scheme within my (management) company now?
The gain which could result from stock option schemes depends on several factors such as the company’s growth expectations, market trends, geopolitical events, …
News
Spain and Portugal: slightly less sunny tax-wise
In a context of increasing mobility within the European Union, Spain and Portugal are popular destinations for, among others, pensioners looking for a milder (tax) climate. There are however, in…
Info COVID-19
I recently donated my family business exempt from gift tax, but I had to cease my economic activity temporarily. Will the exemption be maintained? (Flemish Region, Brussels-Capital Region, Walloon Region)
Flemish Region In principle, an economic activity must be continued - without interruption - for a period of three years after the donation in order to maintain the exemption. A…
Info COVID-19
Is there a reduced VAT rate applicable for the supply of medical devices and PPE such as facemasks and hydroalcoholic gels?
:: Update 07/05/2020 :: In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, there is a great need for medicines and medical devices, such as facemasks, respirators, etc. An important question here…
Info COVID-19
In what situations and under what conditions can I donate goods for charity, without negative VAT consequences?
:: UPDATE - 16/02/2021 :: When VAT payers donate goods, this can have adverse tax consequences. As far as VAT is concerned, this may mean that VAT has to be…
Publications
CJEU in KPC Herning: The Supply of Land with a Building to Be Demolished Is not Necessarily a VAT Taxable Supply of Building Land
On 4 September 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered an interesting judgment on a real estate transaction relating to the sale of land together with a…
Info COVID-19
Can a partnership be incorporated without physical presence of the constitutors?
The partnership is a commonly used control structure for estate planning purposes. A partnership is usually established between parents and children. Given the Covid-19 virus, the physical gathering is currently…
Info COVID-19
Do I get a deferment of payment for the assessment in the gift or inheritance tax (Flemish Region)?
No deferment, but a repayment plan Anyone who has received an assessment in gift or inheritance tax and who is experiencing financial difficulties can always apply for a repayment plan.…
Info COVID-19
Do I get a deferment for the filing of the inheritance tax return (Brussels-Capital Region)?
In view of the exceptional situation and the more stringent security measures, the Flemish Tax Administration has decided to extend the inheritance tax return period without incurring a tax increase.
Info COVID-19
Do I get a deferment for the filing of the inheritance tax return (Walloon Region)?
In view of the exceptional situation and the more stringent security measures, the Flemish Tax Administration has decided to extend the inheritance tax return period without incurring a tax increase.