The Belgian Publishers Association (Adeb) and the Multimedia Authors’ Society (Scam) have condemned the proposed tax reform affecting copyright royalties and called for a revised plan that includes a transition period.
In an open letter sent on Tuesday to Deputy Prime Ministers David Clarinval (MR) and Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés), the organisations criticised the reform as lacking both prior impact studies and consultation. They state it represents a significant financial burden for affected authors.
The government’s plan to maintain the current system exclusively for those with a Work of Arts (ATA) certificate has raised concerns.
According to Adeb and Scam, many authors working in non-artistic fields would be excluded, while authors working across sectors would face increased administrative complexity, contrary to promises of simplification.
The associations also expressed doubts over whether the Work of Arts commission could handle the demand for certificates in a timely manner.
To mitigate these issues, Adeb and Scam are calling for transitional measures to ensure all requests can be processed before implementation of the reform.
They additionally demand that beginner certificates remain valid and that holding a single certificate should cover all types of copyright and related rights to avoid further administrative burdens.
