BELGIUM Trends and Developments Contributed by: An Weyn and Aurore Sultus, Arteo Law
Step - up in basis upon immigration Individuals moving to Belgium will benefit from a step- up in basis, meaning that the acquisition value of their financial assets will be equal to their market value at the time of immigration. Consequently, only gains accrued during the period of Belgian tax residency are subject to income taxation. Split ownership In cases where ownership of financial assets is split between usufruct and bare-ownership, the capital gains tax will be due from the bare owner. If the holder of the usufruct is a Belgian tax resident but the bare owner is a foreign tax resident, the capital gain realised is not taxable in Belgium even if it would be (partially) attributed to the holder of the usufruct. However, if the bare owner is a Belgian tax resident and the holder of the usufruct is a foreign tax resi - dent, the capital gain realised is fully taxable in Bel - gium even if the bare owner is not entitled to the full A specific individual income tax regime has been introduced for income generated by carried interest structures. Previously, Belgium lacked a specific tax framework for carried interest, often causing uncer - tainty and disputes with the tax authorities on whether it concerned capital gains or remuneration. Carried interest refers to income received by a fund manager or via a fund (a “carried interest vehicle”), to the extent the yield of the investment exceeds what a passive investor receives (being someone who does not perform professional activities for the fund). This applies regardless of how the income is distributed (eg, dividend or capital gain). amount of the realised capital gain. New carried interest income regime For this specific regime to apply, carried interest should be attributed or paid by a carried interest vehicle – ie, alternative investment funds (AIFs) established in Bel - gium or in the EU, or similar foreign non-EU vehicles. Under this regime, carried interest is taxable as mov - able income at a rate of 25%. No social security con - tributions apply.
Taxation of a deemed dividend upon migration of a company and other cross-border reorganisations Certain cross-border reorganisations now trigger tax - ation at the level of the shareholders. Both individual and corporate shareholders are deemed to receive a liquidation dividend when a Bel - gian tax resident company transfers its seat of man - agement abroad, subject to tax at a rate of 30% (a reduced tax rate may apply under a tax treaty). The new rules target not only cross-border migrations but also cross-border mergers and demergers, whereby the transferred assets concerned are not maintained in a permanent establishment in Belgium. The shareholders need to declare this deemed divi - dend in their income tax returns. If the shareholder is a company, the deemed dividend may benefit from the participation exemption if the conditions are met. The new exit tax treatment impacting shareholders has been heavily criticised for being in violation of EU freedoms and the provisions of tax treaties, so the new provisions are expected to be challenged before the Belgian courts. No general wealth tax but increased tax on securities accounts Belgium does not have a general wealth tax for indi - viduals. Instead, it uses targeted alternatives, such as a specific tax on securities accounts (TSA), which is a subscription tax levied on financial instruments held on securities accounts. Securities accounts are within the scope of the TSA if they are held by Belgian tax residents (individuals or legal entities). The taxable base equals the average value of all financial instruments held in the securities account. This includes securities such as shares, depositary receipts, bonds, investment fund units (eg, trackers/ ETFs) and derivatives. Importantly, the cash balance held on the actual securities account is also included in the taxable value. The tax is only due if the average value of the securi - ties account exceeds EUR1 million. The applicable tax rate has recently been increased from 0.15% to 0.3% for reference periods ending after 31 May 2026.
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