Belgium: Decreased withholding tax rate on dividends from new SME issues
On 1 July 2013, the Belgian Parliament adopted the program Law of 28 June 2013 proposed by the Belgian Government.
One of the main measures introduced by the program Law is, effective
1 July 2013
a progressive decrease in the withholding tax rate on dividends distributed on new shares issued by small and medium-sized enterprises as defined in Article 15 of the corporate tax code (SMEs) from 25% as follows:
- To 20% as of the second year after the year of subscription of the new shares;
- To 15% as of the third year after the year of subscription of the new shares.
These reduced tax rates will be granted to SMEs provided that they fulfil the following conditions:
- The cash contributions (carried out as of 1 July 2013) are reinvested into new shares for capital increase and creation of new SMEs.
- The new shares are issued in registered form.
- The new shares are held for an uninterrupted period since issuance.
Eligibility as an SME
According to Article 15 of the corporate tax code, an SME is a company that has met one or more of the following conditions for two consecutive years at the moment when the assessment has to be performed:
- The average number of employees does not exceed 50.
- The annual turnover, exclusive of VAT, does not exceed EUR 7,300,000.
- The total balance sheet does not exceed EUR 3,650,000.
Impact on customers
Shareholders should consult their legal and/or tax advisors to assess whether any action has to be taken.
Further information
For further information, customers may contact the Clearstream Banking1 Tax Help Desk on:
| Luxembourg | Frankfurt | |
| Email: | tax@clearstream.com | tax@clearstream.com |
| Telephone: | +352-243-32835 | +49-(0) 69-2 11-1 3821 |
| Fax: | +352-243-632835 | +49-(0) 69-2 11-61 3821 |
or Clearstream Banking Customer Service or their Relationship Officer.
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1. Clearstream Banking refers collectively to Clearstream Banking AG, registered office at 61, Mergenthalerallee, 65760 Eschborn, Germany and registered in Register B of the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main, Germany under number HRB 7500 (CBF) and Clearstream Banking S.A., registered office at 42, avenue John F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg, and registered with the Luxembourg Register of Commerce and Companies under number B-9248 (CBL).
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