Category: LEGAL NEWS
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VAT: Demolition/Reconstruction: Deal kept?
The reduced rate of 6% was to apply to everyone! As a result, current social conditions would be maintained, and the surface criterion would be tightened from 200m2 to 175m2 for delivery. The draft program law mentions the following different situations: This is good news for property developers, although the difference in surface area maybe…
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LawTax makes the move to Andersen
LawTax is a Belgian law firm focused on tax advice and legal services, for both businesses and individuals. They offer customized solutions and strategies based on in-depth knowledge of tax laws and corporate structures. Through this acquisition Andersen now has an offer in Wavre allowing us to strengthen our expertise and services in the region.…
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The expected re-entry of tax regularization
The previous tax regularization round ended on 31 December 2023, and since then there was no possibility anymore to confess and regularize tax sins. Only at the level of the Flemish Region did it remain possible to declare forgotten assets (mostly foreign bank accounts) by means of a new inheritance tax return. However, such regularization…
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The Code Buysse IV: What’s new on the horizon?
1. What is the Code Buysse? Following several accounting scandals in the United States and Europe, a trend emerged in the early 2000s to regulate good corporate governance. This led to the introduction of a corporate governance law in Belgium in 2002, a corporate governance code for listed companies in 2004 (known as ‘Code Lippens’),…
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The 10% tax increase in case of good faith and the corporate tax deduction ban
A ruling by the Constitutional Court on 21 November 2024 has caused quite a stir amongst tax professionals. According to numerous legal publications a taxpayer who committed a first offense in good faith in his/her tax return – pursuant to this ruling – cannot be automatically sanctioned with a 10% tax increase. Nevertheless, the automatic…
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New “soft law” rules for alcohol advertising
1. The background and the new agreement Accordingly, an intersectoral agreement on the conduct and advertising of beverages containing alcohol was signed on 12 May 2005. On 25 January 2013, the initial agreement of 2005 was updated for the first time by signing an “Agreement on the advertising and marketing of beverages containing alcohol”. On…
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A Preview for the Real Estate and Construction Sector Based on the Coalition Agreement
1. A More Favorable Tax Regime for Renovation Works The federal government intends to permanently apply the reduced VAT rate of 6% for demolition and reconstruction projects to property developers and construction promoters. This measure aims to prevent developers and promoters from reverting to the 21% VAT rate after the transitional arrangement expires on June…
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Donor children – update following the federal coalition agreement for 2025-2029
In our article of 6 November 2024, we discussed the ruling of the Constitutional Court of 26 September 2024, and its consequences. This ruling states that the current legal provisions regarding professional secrecy and the anonymity of sperm donors should no longer result in a donor child being unable to obtain any identifying or non-identifying…
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Flanders has new regulations related to public real estate transactions
1. Regarding public real estate transactions in general The term “public real estate transactions” refers to selling, exchanging land, establishing rights in rem such as ground lease or superficies, renting or leasing, etc., of land and/or buildings belonging to state ownership. It is important to note that, in principle, public real estate transactions are not…
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Uniforms in the private security sector
In particular, rules have been introduced This new “uniforms decree” came into force on September 12, 2024. However, two transition periods have been granted, which will be explained further down in this article. Hereafter is a summary of the rules: 1. Uniform features The authorized colors are kept: black, white, yellow and red, as well…