Tax
Taxes often have a considerable impact on the profitability of businesses and investments. It is therefore crucial to have a clear and comprehensive overview of the tax consequences associated with any proposed transaction. It is a fact of life that tax rules are necessarily complex. They are also subject to continuous change – driven by budgetary constraints, for example. This means that taxpayers face increased fiscal uncertainty and may end up facing complex discussions with the tax authorities.
Your contacts in Tax
The Eubelius Tax team assists clients on a daily basis in assessing tax opportunities and risks and equipping them to make well-informed decisions. Our support also includes assisting clients in obtaining advance tax rulings.
The team maintains a dual focus: providing upfront tax advice, and also defending and assisting clients in discussions with the tax authorities during tax audits or in the courtroom.
Some of our references:
- Assistance to the sector association of REITs in connection with the reform of the regulatory and tax framework for regulated real estate companies, including the preparation of legislative proposals
- Tax structuring advice to a financial institution in relation to the creation of a new real estate investment fund. Eubelius advised on the corporate income tax and VAT aspects related to the incorporation and management of the fund. Our work also included the filing of a request for a tax ruling
- Tax advice to a reference shareholder in relation to the structuring of a public takeover bid on all the shares of a Belgian REIT
- Tax assistance in relation to the creation and structuring of Specialised Real Estate Investment Funds
- Tax advice (on income tax and VAT) to a Belgian REIT regarding the incorporation of an institutional REIT
- Assistance to the management of a listed biotech company in relation to a public tender offer. Our work included advice in relation to the tax impact of the bid on existing management and employee stock option plans
- Assistance to the shareholders of a Belgian software group, the shares of which were sold to a global technology group headquartered in Sweden. Our work included advice in relation to the tax structuring of an incentive scheme for several key employees
- VAT advice to a hospital in relation to the construction of a new hospital building. Our work also included the drafting of a ruling request
- Assistance to a Belgian REIT in relation to a VAT audit conducted by the VAT authorities
- VAT advice to the management of a real estate company in relation to the sale of a refurbished building
- Assistance to and representation of clients during dawn raids and house searches by the special tax inspectorate (BBI/ISI)
- Negotiation of out-of-court settlements in tax disputes, including combined tax, criminal and social settlements
- Representation of clients before all (administrative and judicial) courts, including the Court of Cassation, the Constitutional Court, the Council of State and the Court of Justice of the European Union. (Recent cases include defending various companies in litigation related to (i) the “excess profit rulings” (both at the national level and before the ECJ), (ii) tax consequences (VAT and income taxes) of real estate development projects involving share deals (and their recharacterisation as asset deals), (iii) local tax regulations with a significant impact on businesses, (iv) tax consequences related to cross-border transfer of a company’s seat, (v) taxation of dividend distributions, (vi) tax deductibility of anti-trust fines, as well as (vii) coordinating the legal defence against the tax authorities for thousands of employees of a company and representing them before the Council of State in proceedings against administrative directives concerning the tax regime for company cars, and many more.)
