Van Elder & Associates
Avocats, Attorneys at law, Advocaten

The taxation and the tax law

Gaetan Van Elder & Associates assists his clients in the appreciation of situations, the planning of solutions, their execution and their follow-up.
We assist in the evaluation of the fiscal consequences of the situation (often underestimated, with an impact for all the intervenors : companies, shareholders, directors, family members and in the main branches of Belgian and international fiscal branches of taxation) and the development of different solutions preceded by a ruling, anticipated decision (SDA) or a prior agreement with the tax administration.
We also draft agreements, implementations of structures ad hoc and help in the realization of the formalities and declarations needed.
Gaetan Van Elder & Associates assists his clients in the context of DLU (one time exoneration declaration), fiscal regularizations and negotiations with the tax administrations.
He assists clients on the implications of off shore-entities and holdings of which the caiman tax.

Gaetan Van Elder & Associates intervenes in case of litigation with the tax administration in all stages of the different administrative procedures and verifies the legality (declarations, requests for information, tax control, tax assessment notice, constraints, seizures and execution mesures, diverses, …).

He defends the interest of his clients in front of the civil and penal Courts.

The spheres of competence of Gaetan Van Elder & Associates are in particular the following :


    • Optimization of the acquisition, the detention and the transfer of Belgian or international immovable property (professional buildings,  exception fields, first and second residences, investment properties) and movable (financial values, art work, boats, collection cars, intellectual properties …), held by companies, private persons or other entities.
These operations are realized by security dispositions, dissected rights (usufruct-emphyteusis-building rights), donations (Belgian or foreign), more complex contractual mecanism …or using more complex Belgian or foreign structures like foundation, company incorporated under ordinary law, trust;
    • Optimization of the acquisition, detention and transfer of the company (including the procedure of due diligence, agreements concerning the sale procedure, formalities of opposability) ;
    • The advice in every step of the life of companies of the legal persons  : constitution, modification of statutes, capital increase, M&A and restructurations (mergers, demergers and  partial demerger, contribution of branch and universality), share buy-back, liquidation;
    • The advice to companies including structuration and planning, localizing activities, operations interco and price transfer and the related developments to the erosion on the tax basis and the transfer of profit (BEPS) and the European action plan / European directive against the  tax evasion ATAD.
    • The optimization of the profit, financial flux and the companies costs ;
    • The advice for directors, shareholders, senior managers, sportsmen, artists, in order to structure and optimize their professional activities, salaries and complementary pensions, (management company, salary split, benefit in kind, stock options,  group insurance ….) ;
    • The international taxation of which the European treaties, the numerous directives  (DACS, DMF) and regulations and the bilateral conventions (CDPI and multilateral OECD). The Jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Uninon and the European Court of human rights ;
    • Launching of activities or/and investment operations and financing in Belgium and abroad including the choosing of the adequate vehicle (subsidiary, branch, place of business, funds, tax shelter…) ;
    • The advice in ecommerce of which the localization of the server and the activities ;
    • The planning of intellectual property (IP) and its income (royalties, withholding tax) ;
    • The structuration of propertie by companies, private persons, other entities ;
    • The managing of anti-abuse measures and risks of reclassification on Belgian and international level ;
    • The drafting of the inheritance declaration and the death duties.
    • The advice on the inheritance rights, donation and  foreign duties (US, France, Germany, Spain …)
    • The optimization of the local taxations (tax on the wind parks, immovable withholding tax, traffic tax, business occupancy tax, tax on offices, tax on second residences… ) ;
    • Assistance for non-residents wishing to install in Belgium of who the management of the  « exit tax » and the advice to Belgian residents who wish to move abroad or transfer their head office ;
    • The analysis of the Belgian fiscal implications when a situation occurs  presenting a link with Belgium (situation of property, residence of persons, seat of companies or establishments, source of  revenues) thanks to his knowledge of European tax and the international convention signed with Belgium en the prevention of double taxation ;
    • GAETAN VAN ELDER & ASSOCIATES also has a strong expertise in registration fees and immovable VAT.