Is the New Belgian Exit Tax on Shareholders of Migrating Companies EU-Proof?

New
Journal
Wouters, P.
Belgium
European Taxation 2026 (Volume 66), No. 1
FormatPDF
USD
45

In July 2025, the Belgian Parliament approved a Program Law introducing a fictitious dividend in the hands of shareholders that is triggered upon an outbound migration of their Belgian subsidiary. The “discontinuity principle”, applicable for tax purposes at the level of the migrating company, has therefore been extended to shareholders, irrespective of whether these shareholders change their own tax residency. In this article, the author questions whether this new exit taxation is aligned with EU and Belgian constitutional law.