Fiscal law and rulings

Since the law of 16 July 2008 on the tax treatment of copyright income, copyright income is qualified as investment income. This means that the one who pays out copyrights has to pay a withholding tax of 15% ‘at source’. As from 2012, however, this copyright income must always be mentioned in your tax return.  Since remunerations for services are subject to the normal income tax regime, unlike copyright income, contracting parties are mostly seeking to qualify a maximum part of the remuneration as copyright fee. 

Our office advises copyright owners, producers, interim agencies and social secretariats etc. to ensure optimal and acceptable agreements in terms of tax treatment.  Since the introduction of the possibility of “prefiling”, we may recommend to seek an advice in preparation for a possible ruling at the competent department of the federal public service finance.