The Belgian Constitutional Court Confirms the Exclusion of Current Account Claims from the ‘VVPRbis’ Regime
A Tax Optimization Mechanism Subject to Strict Conditions
The so called “VVPRbis” regime is a tax optimization mechanism that, under certain conditions, allows for a reduction of the withholding tax on dividends paid by an SME: starting from the third financial year after the capital contribution, the withholding tax rate drops from 30% to 15%. However, this attractive regime is subject to strict conditions. For instance, the capital contribution must be made in cash. Contributions in kind, such as real estate, are excluded. It is precisely this exclusion—applied to the contribution of a shareholder’s current account claim (i.e., money advanced by the shareholders to their company)—that led to a dispute brought before the Constitutional Court.
