Belgian MNCs Gearing Up For BEPS
A vast majority of tax directors working for multinational corporations located in Belgium fear that the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project will lead to higher administrative charges, a survey of over 800 tax directors across Europe has revealed.
According to Deloitte’s European Tax Survey, 85 percent of the tax directors working for Belgian companies believe that the BEPS project is very important for their tax department (compared with 44 percent last year). 71 percent of Belgian respondents said they are currently reassessing their company’s current international tax strategy in response.
The survey shows, as it did last year, that tax uncertainty and complexity continue to be the main concerns in the eyes of tax directors.
The survey highlights that virtually all (97 percent) of the multinational corporations surveyed have had a tax inspection in the past three years. For over three-quarters of the respondents, the inspection related to a check on corporate tax. Belgium conducted fewer probes than other European states, with only 65 percent of multinational corporations have been inspected in the past three years.
Additionally, more than half of the directors surveyed in Europe (54 percent) believe that there is a high degree of tax uncertainty in their country. In Belgium, that percentage was 76 percent.