The Commission is today sending a reasoned opinion to Belgium for infringing EU rules on the taxation of interest income from bonds.
Belgian rules applied to interest on fixed income bonds differ depending on whether the interest comes from Belgian bonds or bonds of foreign origin. Belgian national rules for bonds that are registered in the Belgian liquidation system and sold in Belgium take account of the holding period of such bonds, if they were owned for less than a full fiscal year. In contrast, rules applied to income from bonds of foreign origin registered in the Belgian liquidation system whose income is received outside Belgium are calculated as if they were owned for a full fiscal year. This difference in the treatment of interest income constitutes an obstacle to the cross-border movement of capital.
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