Jacques GOMBEER Auditor General Head, International Income Tax Federal 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/ 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 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 march 2009 A letter is sent to Mr. GURRIA, Secretary General of the OECD : Belgium drops its reservation on the exchange of bank information 14 march 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 signed Most 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/ (AFER n°25/2010) of 12 March 2010 The 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

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