Finance minister vows to scrap outdated & unfair taxes

Belgian finance minister Koen Geens has announced plans to abolish a raft of taxes deemed to be unfair, obsolete, or contrary to international law, writes Tax News’ Ulrika Lomas. Alluding to such levies as "plague taxes," Geens pledged to repeal any charges that yield little for the state, but merely lead to legal wrangling and disputes. Initiating a fundamental reform and simplification of the country's tax system is vital to ensuring the competitiveness of the Belgian economy, he stressed, pointing out that this is a task that he has inherited from his predecessor, Steven Vanackere. Consequently, Geens revealed that his administration has, over the past few months, drawn up a list of taxes that are incompatible with international law, and therefore in need of being swiftly withdrawn, together with a list of other irksome, outdated, and controversial taxes. He unveiled details of plans to abolish the provision imposing VAT on travel outside of the European Union  from January 1, 2014. Defending the plans, Geens argued that tour operators have for years been lamenting the unfairness of the tax. The tax has been abolished in all other EU countries, except Belgium, Geens pointed out. Furthermore, Geens said that he would re-examine the provision imposing a standard fine of 200% on all taxpayers failing to settle their VAT bills on time. In future, the amount of the fine will be dependent on the seriousness of the tax offence. Taxpayers acting in good faith can be assured of a lower fine, the minister explained. Referring to the €5 tax levied on companies for the delivery of a patent as "archaic," Geens vowed to scrap the fee, which generates little income for the state but is time-consuming for businesses. Finally, Geens vowed to make changes to Belgian legislation under which any court ruling over €12,500 involves the payment of a registration fee. A twist in the law means that, at present, if an offender is unable to pay, then the victim is liable to settle the outstanding charge.