Financial authorities have been clamping down on what they argue is an "over-exploited" copyright tax scheme, which allows self-employed workers in some sectors to only pay 7.5% tax. They have been accused of applying new rules (which came into effect this year) to past tax audits.
L'Echo reports that Belgium's tax officials have already begun to impose greater control of the scheme, following much deliberation and eventual approval from the Federal Government.
From 2023 onwards, the so-called droits d'auteur tax bracket will now be regulated more tightly, with those taxed under the scheme having to prove that their work is widely distributed to the public and exploited by a third party.
However, FPS Finance has come under criticism for demanding that taxpayers meet these new conditions during their latest audits of tax filings preceding the changes' applicability.
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Tax lawyer, Sébastien Watelet, has said that the news should not come as a surprise as the government had long fought for the system "to no longer be applicable if their work was not notified to public authorities."
In any case, the growing consensus among tax experts is that any appeal by taxpayers who feel mistreated by the audits would be successful. All the same, they warned against engaging in a "long and costly" legal process.
