Column J. Tuerlinckx in Trends : Fiscal pacification (02/04/2024)
25 years ago almost to the day, the ‘new’ tax dispute resolution legislation was enacted with the acts of 15 and 27 March 1999. It was a major reform. It put a definitive end to the jurisdictional function of the objection stage.
Columnn J. Tuerlinckx in Trends: Getting withholding tax from company managers: an ongoing battle (29/2/2024)
We need to talk about withholding tax. As natural persons, we all pay taxes on our professional income. The personal income tax is settled for each calendar year. You declare your income in the middle of the calendar year following the one in which you received that income
Column J. Tuerlinckx in Trens: The superlative form of legistic negationism (08/02/2024)
Didactics dictates that before discussing a superlative form, the basic form should first be explained. The best thing, therefore, is to start with the concept of ‘legistic negationism’, which is not included in the Oxford dictionary. ‘Negationism’, which is included, stands for the denial or extreme minimisation of generally accepted historical events. In Dutch, the term ‘formal legistics’ is synonymous with ‘legislative technique’.
Column J. Tuerlinckx in Trends: Government liability and the unstable equilibrium of the Separation of Powers (23/11/2023)
Thirty years ago, when I came to the bar as an intern, I was able to experience it. The judiciary was not gentle with the executive at the time. This was even the case in tax matters. If the tax administration violated a procedural rule, that would be disastrous. A tax assessment that was not established according to the rules of the law ̶ and art ̶ was invariably annulled. But things also went further than that
Column Jan Tuerlinckx in Trends: Things can change in the judiciary (28/09/2023)
There once was an entrepreneur. No, this is not the start of a fairy tale, but of my career thirty years ago. That entrepreneur was being swindled by one of his employees, but he didn't take it lying down. He ingeniously set up a system of checks to catch the thief and prove the theft. This did not happen overnight, however
Column Jan Tuerlinckx in Trends : Short-lived legislation! (13/07/2023)
It couldn’t be drier. The last paragraph of page 53 of the coalition agreement of Belgium’s so-called ‘Vivaldi’ government reads: “The possibility of tax regularisation will be discontinued as of 31 December 2023.” Back in 2020, that seemed a long way off. But in just under six months, it will become a reality. The possibility of tax forgiveness, subject to a fair yet substantial settlement, will disappear.
The fiscal antiphrase of innovation policy - Column in Trends of 23 March 2023
Two weeks ago, Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem (Christian Democratic and Flemish party) presented his proposal for the first phase of a broad fiscal reform. It is rather ambitious.
Suppose – purely hypothetically – that you drove much too fast. And to make matters worse, you also got caught on a speed camera. Then, you will of course face a criminal penalty. However, if you do not agree with the amicable settlement offered to you, you will continue to enjoy the presumption of innocence, until a judge convicts you definitively of that offence. It is important for a sentence to only be enforceable once the judiciary has made its final ruling. In other words, after you have defended yourself in all objectivity before an independent and impartial court.
Be careful what you measure (Column in Trends 30/06/2022)
Defining a strategy is not an easy task for a company. It must first set a mission, a vision and a goal. Critical success factors, abbreviated as CSFs, are the key elements to achieve that goal. CSFs are closely intertwined with the mission and strategic objectives
Come the end of September, days and nights are of equal length for the second time in the year. It’s the equinox. Then darkness sets in earlier and earlier each day. This darkness provides insight into the economy. It tells you which companies are still working late at night: the lights are still on for bookkeepers, accountants and tax consultants who are filing tax returns. Even at weekends, their lights are still burning during that period, although this is less noticeable.
The withholding tax system keeps the country on course. As long as the proceeds from this tax increase, the Minister of Finance will not lose sleep over the state of affairs at the Federal Public Service Finance.” The comment of a trade union leader about the tax authorities. Withholding tax is the beating heart of our treasury. Every month, it provides the necessary liquidity, straight from the pockets of Belgium’s wage earners. Law philosophers who venture into taxation praise payroll tax – and withholding taxes in general – as an efficient way to collect tax, and rightly so.
Tax law is a matter of public policy. This is a legal doctrine which means, among other things, that tax law must be applied at all times, that it cannot be deviated from, not even by the court. The competence of everyone and everything related to it is limited to its rigorous implementation. After all, paying taxes is the cornerstone of our society.
Governments would like us taxpayers to believe that there is only one battle, and that would be the fight against tax fraud. There is at least one other battle, but the authorities would rather not tell us about it. It is an internal struggle that they prefer to keep under wraps.
Studies predicted it, and it is now becoming a reality: the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has become a liquidity crisis. For companies trying to shift up a gear, this is a nightmare. While their invoice payments are delayed if paid at all, they nonetheless need to meet their own financial obligations in good time.
A Dutch entrepreneur got into trouble with his company during the previous credit crisis. He came up with a creative solution: he asked his insurer for his accrued pension capital and temporarily transferred it to the company, with the intention of replenishing that capital as soon as his equity had recovered.
THESE ARE STRANGE CIRCUMSTANCES. New insights and concepts that were simmering below the surface are emerging, even in taxation. In this respect, this manifests itself in a particular form of paternalism, and this time not only in Belgium.
OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS, we’ve all been on lockdown. We’ve been working from home and travelling was totally out of the question. In this context, we’ve had to make do with what we had, trying our best. For some jobs, teleworking is not an option at all, for others more so. Working from home and remotely has replaced working in a workplace.
Agreements and clarity are crucial, also with regard to taxation affecting cross-border employees
The coronavirus crisis is presenting us with unprecedented challenges. International taxation is no exception. In Belgium, a blanket entry and exit ban on non-essential travel has been in effect since 18 March 2020. In addition, teleworking is mandatory for all employees whose function allows it.
THIS IS ONE OF THE fundamental principles of our society: everyone is equal before the law. As such, it is the pillar of our democratic system. It constitutes the basis of Articles 10 and 11 of the principle of equality enshrined in the Constitution.