Notification requirement for payments to tax havens: OECD list updated

Payments to persons or permanent establishments located in so-called "tax havens" which exceed the threshold of 100.000 euros per taxable period must be reported via a separate form on the corporation tax return. Failure to report these payments has the consequence that the amounts paid are not deductible as professional expenses.

There is both an OECD list and a Belgian list of tax havens. The OECD list contains an overview of all countries that do not comply with the OECD standard on transparency and exchange of information.

Update of OECD list

Since November 4, 2016, five countries on the OECD list have been designated as "non-compliant". Starting from 22 June 2017, Guatemala, the Marshall Islands, (the Federated States of) Micronesia and Panama are, however, no longer characterised as "non-compliant". This means that the jurisdiction of Trinidad and Tobago is henceforth the only one included on this OECD list.

For Guatemala and Panama, the reporting obligation therefore only applies to payments that took place between 4 November 2016 and 21 June 2017. The deletion of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands from this list, on the other hand, has no impact on the reporting requirement. After all, these countries also appear on the Belgian list of tax havens. Payments to these countries must therefore still be reported, even if they have been made after 21 June 2017.

Paradise Papers: European black list

We would also like to mention that the European Ministers of Finance (ECOFIN) approved a blacklist of tax havens on 5 December 2017. The 17 jurisdictions outside the EU listed on this list are not sufficiently prepared to cooperate in the fight against tax avoidance and evasion.

The European list came in the aftermath of the revelations of the Panama Papers and the Paradise Papers. However, there are currently no tax sanctions attached to this list.

Do you have any doubts as to whether specific payments should be reported or not? Then contact your account manager or one of our specialists through contact@vdl.be.