BELGIUM Trends and Developments Contributed by: An Weyn and Aurore Sultus, Arteo
Belgian tax residents will be treated as dividends and be taxable in the hands of the beneficiaries, unless: • the beneficiary can prove that the relevant income or gain has already effectively been taxed in Belgium in accordance with look-through taxa - tion legislation (Cayman tax) in the hands of the founder; or • the taxpayer can demonstrate that the distribution triggers a decrease in the value of the trust’s assets to below the value of the assets originally contrib - uted. Inheritance tax treatment of a trust When it comes to Belgian inheritance tax, there is no look-through taxation with regard to foreign trusts. In general, the tax authorities have taken the position in the three regions that no inheritance tax is immediate - ly due on all the assets upon or pursuant to the death of the Belgian tax resident settlor if the trust was set up and has acted as an irrevocable and discretionary trust. However, if the trust makes a distribution upon and/or after the death of a Belgian tax resident settlor, that does trigger inheritance tax liability on the value of the distribution.
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