News

Many owners of a foreign holiday homes rent out this home - usually furnished - to maximize the return on their investment. The Belgian tax administration has this in its sights and tries to tax a portion of the rental income. However, this violates double taxation treaties, which has now also been confirmed by recent case law.

In May 2024, the investment deduction was reformed for all investments made or established as of 1 January 2025. Through a Royal Decree of 20 December 2024, published in the Belgian Official Gazette on 31 December 2024, the legislator clarifies which investments are eligible for the new thematic deduction. In this article, you will find a summary of the published investment lists.

Vendor due diligence (VDD) is a powerful tool that is increasingly becoming part of the acquisition process of companies. Not only in complex, international acquisitions, but also in smaller-scale local acquisitions. Whereas traditional due diligence is typically carried out by the buyer, it is the seller who initiates the VDD. In this process, an independent external party conducts a thorough investigation of the company in question. The aim is to give potential buyers confidence, by providing transparent and accurate information upfront. This benefits the parties on both sides of the table.

Are you active in the distribution sector, sales concessions, franchising,...? If so, you may be familiar - e.g. as a franchisor - with the obligation to provide a draft agreement and a pre-contractual information document (‘PID’) to the other contracting party (e.g. the franchisee) at least one month before the conclusion of the commercial agreement. In a recent article we already informed you that the information to be mentioned in the PID has thoroughly changed since September 1, 2024. However, soon you will have to update your PID again! This is because the information you must mention in the PID will be further expanded. These new rules will come into force on March 1, 2025.

In the framework of the 15% minimum taxation rules for large international and domestic groups, also known as Pillar II, Belgian group entities were required to file a P2-Notification by July 13, 2024. This deadline is now postponed to September 16, 2024 for Belgian group entities that do not plan to make Pillar II prepayments in 2024.

If you, as an entrepreneur, invest in new tangible or intangible fixed assets used for your business activities in Belgium, you can claim the investment deduction. Through the investment deduction, sole traders and companies receive a tax deduction higher than the acquisition or investment value of the investments concerned.