TaxSource Total

Here you can access summary of the key current tax developments in Ireland, the UK and internationally as reported by Chartered Accountants Ireland

The report of key tax developments are displayed per year, per month, by Ireland, the UK or International and by report title

EU: Infringement Proceedings against Belgium

The European Commission has closed infringement proceedings against Belgium in the areas of tax relief for houses and tax discrimination against foreign pension funds.

* Tax Relief for Houses

The European Commission had sent Belgium a formal request in January 2007 to amend its legislation concerning tax relief for owner-occupied and secondary houses. Belgium allowed such relief on condition that the houses were located in Belgium.

* Foreign Pension Funds

The European Commission had sent a formal request to Belgium in 2003 to amend its tax legislation under which pension contributions paid to foreign funds were not tax deductible while contributions paid to domestic funds were. Following no action on the part of Belgium to amend its legislation, the General Counsel of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered his conclusions on 6 October 2006 that the Belgian tax rules were discriminatory.

In its reply to the General Counsel, the Belgian government did not contest the conclusions and announced necessary legislative measures to remove discrimination from its legislation.