International Estate Planning:
Legal and Tax aspects
How to avoid multiple taxation on inheritance transfers in case of no double tax treaties apply
The core principle to choose the lowest tax route in Belgian and European law
By Mr Gaëtan Van Elder
Lawyer, Partner at Gaëtan Van Elder & Associates Law firm
Lecturer of the Executive Master in Tax Management at Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management
Here is an excerpt :
Section 1 : The Resident or the so-called “habitant du Royaume”.
According to Belgian law, is resident the individual who has his or her domicile or his or her center of economic interest located in Belgium (Article 1 of the Succession Duties Code). They are cumulative criteria. Derks’ Case law is symbolic
Section 2 : Taxation of the resident’s world-wide estate – Taxation of the non-resident is limited to immovable property.
Provision 13 of the Protocol (no 7) on the privileges and immunities of the European Union states that for the application of several taxes (including death duties), officials and other servants of the Union who, solely by reason of the performance of their duties in the service of the Union, establish their residence in the territory of a Member State other than their country of domicile for tax purposes at the time of entering the service of the Union, shall be considered, both in the country of their actual residence and in the country of domicile for tax purposes, as having maintained their domicile in the latter country provided that it is a member of the Union.
