Sarah Ceulemans
Committee Coordinator
Legal & Taxation Committee
The Legal & Taxation Committee is responsible for monitoring significant tax and legal developments in Belgium, taking into account relevant EU and international aspects. The Committee attempts to influence, in a constructive fashion, legislative and administrative decisions to promote the best interests of the Chamber's members and, more generally, the international business community in Belgium.
Goals
- To promote a positive investment climate in Belgium with specific regard to fiscal and non-fiscal incentives and, in general, to promote the continued improvement in the overall legal and tax climate for investors.
- To promote improvements in various tax rules of a more specific nature which are of concern to business and to minimize the additional administrative burden imposed on companies by the introduction of new rules.
- To continuously improve the user-friendliness and speed of the daily interface between the Belgian tax authorities and its clients.
- To promote further cooperation between Belgium and the United States, including the resolution of bilateral transfer pricing disputes and promoting the benefits of closer trade and investment relations.
Subcommittees & Position Papers
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Customs & Trade Subcommittee
The Customs & Trade Subcommittee's mission is to monitor developments related to trade and customs and work on improving the competitiveness of the Belgian customs environment.
Chaired by Karolien Vandenberghe, Corporate Counsel, Herstal Group
Position Papers
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Digital Tax Subcommittee
The Digital Tax Subcommittee monitors developments, shares information and advocates AmCham Belgium's position on digital taxation. More concretely, the Subcommittee follows the OECD’s Pillar I and Pillar II proposals to reform international tax rules as well as the mooted Digital Service Tax in Belgium.
Chaired by Erik Stessens, Senior Vice President, Tax, Europe and APMEA, Mastercard Europe.
Position Papers
- OECD Pillar II - GloBe Information Return and Tax Certainty for the GloBe Rules (January 2023)
- OECD Pillar I - Amount B (January 2023)
- European Commission’s “Business in Europe – Framework for Income Taxation” (BEFIT) proposal (January 2023)
- OECD – Implementation of Pillar One and Two – Recommendations for Belgium (January 2022)
- EU Commission - Business Taxation for the 21st Century - Discussion note (August 2021)
- Feedback on the proposed EU Digital Levy (February 2021)
- Response to the OECD public consultation Pillar One and Two (December 2020)
- Digital Service Tax (August 2020)
- Response to the public consultation on the Pillar One proposal (OECD Proposal for a “Unified Approach”) (October 2019)
- Response to the OECD Public consultation document: Global Anti-Base Erosion Proposal (“GloBE”)(Pillar Two) (December 2019)
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Employee Tax Subcommittee
The Employee Tax Subcommittee focuses on personal taxes and social security issues which are related to international employment and drafts recommendations through position papers to advocate with Belgian government officials and political decision-makers. The Subcommittee has recently been working on solutions to ensure Belgium's attractiveness for highly skilled foreign executives and professionals. To attract and maintain investments in the field of innovation in Belgium, the Subcommittee continues to work on safeguarding Belgium’s employee-related R&D tax incentives.
Chaired by An De Reymaeker, Tax Lawyer - Partner, Vandendijk & Partners.
Position Papers
- Support to maintain Belgium's R&D tax incentives and their attractiveness for investors (June 2021)
- COVID-19 Cross-border Workers Tax (April 2020)
- Proposal for an enhanced immigration policy for the Walloon Region (April 2020)
- Social Security Cap and Increasing Competitiveness (February 2019)
- Social Security and Long Term Incentive Plans (November 2018)
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Legal Subcommittee
The Legal Subcommittee monitors and informs the AmCham Belgium member community on pertinent legal developments, such as the new Belgian Code of Companies & Associations and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Chaired by Tom Swinnen, Partner, Corporate M&A and Private Equity, Simont Braun.
Position Papers
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Regional Tax Subcommittee
The Regional Tax Subcommittee follows regional tax developments relevant for the international business community in Belgium. The Subcommittee's program is growing, reflecting the existing complexity in Belgium resulting from diverging tax rules in the three regions of the country.
Chaired by Ferenc Ballegeer, Lawyer, FB-Tax & Private Wealth Law.
Position Papers
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Tax Horizon 2030 Subcommittee
The Tax Horizon 2030 Subcommittee looks at the overall competitiveness of Belgium with respect to corporate taxation. It puts forward proposals for the medium- and longer-term reform of Belgium’s corporate tax system and monitors related Belgian and international developments, such as the OECD’s ‘BEPS 2.0’ initiative.
Chaired by Koen Van Ende, Partner Corporate Tax Practice, KPMG Tax and Legal Advisers.
Position Papers
- Tax Horizon 2025 (August 2020)
- Tax Horizon 2025 (April 2019)
- AmCham Belgium's Position on Tax Consolidation (March 2018)
- Position on Summer Agreement (September 2017)
- Cash Tax for Audit Adjustments (September 2017)
- Letters to Government Officials Interest Limitation Deduction and CbCR (July 2017)
- Priorities and Recommendations for Tax Reform in Belgium (2016)
- Transfer Pricing Documentation Letter to Authorities (February 2016)
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VAT Subcommittee
The VAT Subcommittee monitors VAT-related developments and works with the Belgian authorities to make the country's VAT system as business friendly as possible. The Subcommittee also follows developments related to Brexit and relevant initiatives at the EU level.
Chaired by Ine Lejeune, Independent Attorney.
Position Papers