Constitutional Court Backs Belgium’s Minimum Taxable Base Rule

Belgium’s Constitutional Court backed a tax rule preventing companies from using past losses to offset additional assessments that carry a punitive surcharge.

The court upheld the constitutionality of the rule on all grounds, finding that there are sufficient safeguards against arbitrary use by the tax authorities and that the differing treatment of taxpayers is justified by the need for an effective sanction for noncompliance, even where companies have tax losses.

The April 9 decision is specific to a 2019-20 version of the rule, commonly known as la base minimale d’imposition, or minimum taxable base.