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E-flash: Update favourable regime for expats

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We refer to our e-zine of 13 January 2022 in which we explain the new favourable regime for expats in Belgium, as laid down in the Programme Act of 27 December 2021 on the introduction of a special tax regime for incoming taxpayers and incoming researchers (see here). 

The FPS Finance published its comments on these new rules on 6 May 2022. The principles, conditions and procedure of the special tax regime are explained again. The commentary does not contain any new elements and is mainly a restatement of the insights that already appeared in the explanatory memorandum and the Act. 

The comments are interesting because the FPS provides a number of examples to clarify and concretise certain points. Furthermore, reference is made to the royal decrees that have been drafted and/or have entered into force. For example, the Royal Decree of 5 March 2022 stipulates which data and information the application form must contain for the favourable regime. This Royal Decree is attached to the commentary. 

The NSSO has also published its point of view on the regulation of the reimbursement of expenses. The NSSO follows the point of view of the FPS Finance and accepts that real and exceptional expenses and lump sum expenses (limited to 30%, absolute maximum EUR 90.000) are exempt from social security contributions if all conditions are fulfilled (see our previous e-zine). To this end, article 19 of the Royal Decree of 28 November 1969 still needs to be amended. Consequently, this position is still subject to final approval and signature of the Royal Decree. The amount of the expense allowance does not have to be mentioned on the DmfA. However, it is compulsory to indicate the persons to whom the special tax regime applies in the DmfA with a specific status code (i.e. FE). 

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