Jacques GOMBEERAuditor GeneralHead, International Income TaxFederal Public Service Finance

International Exchange of Information in

Direct Tax Matters

The Belgian Policy

BELGIAN POLICY UNTIL 27 NOVEMBER 2006

Domestic bank confidentiality is provided for in Article 318 of the Income Tax Code• Belgian Tax Administration is not allowed to request information

from banks for the taxation of their customers• Article 318 only applies to income tax

International Tax Treaties : no international exchange of bank information

Savings Directive 2003/48/EC = no exchange of information but withholding tax

27 NOVEMBER 2006 : Signature of a new Belgian/US Tax Treaty

Article 25 organises the exchange of bank information between the I.R.S. and the Belgian Tax Administration

• Exchange of information is restricted to exchange on request• The request must identify a specific tax paper and a specific bank• Entry into force on 28 December 2007

Circular AAF/97-380 of 15 Februari 2008 : the Article 25 derogation does not allow the Belgian tax Administration to use for its own purposes the information that is requested from Belgian banks on behalf of the I.R.S.

2008 Reservation on Article 26 of the OECD Model Tax Treaty : no exchange of bank information but if such exchange of bank information is included in a tax treaty it will be restricted to the exchange on request

concerning both a specific tax paper and a specific bank

2009 : moving to the International Standard of Transparency and Exchange of Information

11 marc

h 2009

•A letter is sent to Mr. GURRIA, Secretary General of the OECD : Belgium drops its reservation on the exchange of bank information

14 marc

h 2009

•Press release : as from 1 January 2010 Belgium will comply with the Savings Directive by applying the automatic exchange of information

April 2009

•Belgium takes part in the process of revising the O.E.C.D./Council of Europe Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (signed in 1992)

2010 Achieving the International Standart of Transparency and the Exchange of

Information

40 Protocols and T.I.E.A.’s (Tax Information Exchange Agreements) are signedMost of the Protocols and T.I.E.A.’s deal with « taxes levied by or on behalf of the Contracting States »

The Protocol amending the O.E.C.D./Council of Europe Convention will be signed by Belgium in May 2010

The circular on the implementation of the Savings Directive Ci. R9. Div/602.285 (AFER n°25/2010) of 12 March 2010The information collected during the year 2010 by paying agents

in Belgium will be passed on to the Belgian Tax Administration before 31 March 2011

Such information will be transmitted to the relevant E.U. countries before 30 June 2011

Thank You for your Attention