Belgium: FAQs provide guidance on tax on securities accounts
Guidance on the new annual tax on securities accounts
Guidance on the new annual tax on securities accounts
The Belgian tax authorities published guidance on the new annual tax on securities accounts.
The guidance—in the form of a set of “frequently asked questions” (FAQs)—answers numerous questions that have risen since the introduction of this tax earlier this year. For background, read TaxNewsFlash.
FAQs
The guidance contained within the FAQs clarifies:
- The definition and scope of a “security account”
- To what extent a security account includes a cash account that is linked to a securities account
- The valuation of financial instruments for calculating the taxable base and practical matters such as the declaration and payment of the tax
- Application of the tax in cross-border situations (, i.e., Belgian securities accounts that are held by non-residents and the implications of an income tax treaty)
- Which securities accounts are exempt from the tax and those that are not exempt
KPMG observation
Tax professionals view the FAQs as a useful, comprehensive practical guide to application of the tax. There are some interesting and surprising aspects of the FAQs—such as when one account holder is a Belgian resident, the entire (Belgian or foreign) securities account is considered to be taxable and the requirement for exempt account-holders (including certain non-residents) to provide an attestation (even annually if invoking relief available under an income tax treaty).
Read an October 2021 report prepared by the KPMG member firm in Belgium
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