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  • Service: Tax, International Executive Services, Global Compliance Management Services
  • Type: Regulatory update
  • Date: 2/21/2013

Belgium - Tax reduction for Walloon residents referred to CJEU 

February 21:   The European Commission today announced it would refer Belgium to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) concerning a tax reduction made available to individual residents in the Walloon region.

According to today’s EC release (IP/13/136), the “Walloon Decree” of 3 April 2009 allows a tax credit (and, thus, a reduction of individual (personal) income tax) when individuals who are residents of the Walloon region buy shares or bonds of the Investment Fund of Wallonia. The tax credit is available for resident taxpayers whose yearly income does not exceed €18,730. Non-residents earning all or almost all of their income in Belgium and meeting the same condition of low income earnings are excluded from the benefit of the tax credit.


Because the tax reduction is not available to non-residents who earn their income in the Walloon region, the EC found that this treatment is discriminatory and restricts the free movement of workers provided for in the EU treaties.


The referral to the CJEU is the last step in the infringement procedure.




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