BELGIUM: UPDATE ON FATCA REPORTING FOR 2014
Belgian financial institutions have more time to comply with their reporting requirements under the FATCA regime. FATCA reporting for 2014 must be completed prior to the 10th day following the publication of the Belgian FATCA law in the Belgian official gazette. Currently, the law has not been enacted, but it is anticipated that the law allowing for implementation of the FATCA regime will be passed in Belgium before the end of 2015.
Belgium and the United States signed an intergovermental agreement (IGA) under FATCA in April 2014. While the Belgian tax authorities have released a draft version of the Belgian FATCA guidance notes, the Belgian government has yet to approve a law enacting FATCA into Belgian domestic law. Without such Belgian law and absent clear reporting instructions from the Belgian tax authorities, Belgian financial institutions have not reported the 2014 FATCA information (which originally was due by 30 June 2015, per the draft version of Belgian FATCA guidance notes).
Last week the office of the Belgian Ministry of Finance orally confirmed that the IRS agreed to delay the FATCA reporting deadline. Belgian financial institutions now will have until the 10th day following the publication of the Belgian FATCA law into the Belgian official gazette to report their 2014 FATCA information to the Belgian tax authorities. The Belgian FATCA law is expected to be voted on before 2015 year-end.
Read a September 2015 report [PDF 89 KB] prepared by the KPMG member firm in Belgium.
