A while ago, we dedicated a newsletter to payments towards tax havens and the get-to-know-your-counterparty principle. (https://hlb.be/nl/payments-towards-tax-havens-wake-up-call-for-non-compliant-companies/).
The Belgian tax authorities have not been idle since the aforementioned newsletter. On 20/12/2021, a new administrative circular was launched in order to elaborate certain points.
For several years, payments towards tax havens (e.g. Cayman Islands, Monaco, etc.) shall be declared by Belgian companies as from the moment the total amount of these payments exceeds 100.000 EUR per year.
As from December 2021, the tax authorities will regularly update an excel file in which all tax havens are listed.
In comparison to former years, it shall be noted that a.o. Malta and Turkey are the most important new states that appear on the list. In principle, there is a double tax treaty including a non-discrimination clause with these countries, which won’t allow the tax authorities to reject a non-declaration of these payments. In any case, declaration of these payments is still mandatory.
All countries can be found under the next link. https://financien.belgium.be/sites/default/files/bbisi/lijst_van_staten.xlsx:
For an analysis of your tax haven situation, do not hesitate to contact your HLB expert.
