The Belgian Income Tax Regime for (Regulated) Savings Accounts and EU Law: Ten Years of Turmoil

Abstract

In this article, the author outlines the evolution of the Belgian tax/legal framework with regard to regulated savings accounts, followed by a review of CJEU and domestic case law prior to and following the regime’s extension to foreign deposits. He discusses the administrative position taken in light of more recent case law, including the CJEU decision in VN v. Belgian State (Case C-34/22), concluding that the incompatibility of the regime with EU law in essence lies not in the substantive conditions themselves, but in the requirement that similar conditions must exist in the regulations of other states.