Duration
10h Th
Number of credits
| Specialised master in tax law | 2 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the second semester
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
Course overview
After the theory has been presented, a number of cases involving practical inheritance tax planning in an international context will be considered. The subject goes beyond the context of a classical pattern of the national de cujus (testator) and Belgian resident, who had a more or less linear professional career and whose entire patrimony is in Belgium: the estate is made up of goods situated abroad or the successors are domiciled in a country where beneficiaries are taxed on donations or successions (Germany, France, Spain).
Topics covered
In the first part of the course, the following topics will be covered:
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Certain foreign legislation (covering 9 countries), including that of two Anglo-Saxon countries, will be reviewed which will provide us with an opportunity to discuss succession, in Belgium, of retired persons who worked in international institutions (EC, NATO and SHAPE). In a second step we will illustrate the case of a foreign citizen leaving Belgium ("impatriation") at the time of retirement for his country of origin (France, Germany, UK).
- We will then take stock of the notion of residence in death duties while not avoiding issues of wealth tax ("WT") and the fictions of tax domicile in the originating State (the Netherlands, Germany).
- In particular, we will use a practical case to attempt to show that, without going as far as creating a legal structure, the double (or triple) taxation resulting from an inheritance made up of goods located in different States (property in France and Belgium, securities portfolios in the US) for a Belgian resident who kept the nationality of his country of origin (American, for example) may be attenuated by the technique of donation by looking to maximise tax credits granted by most foreign States.
The second part of the course will be devoted to a more dynamic "ex ante" rather than "a posteriori" analysis of the following questions:
- How do we structure property investments in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and how do we finance them?
- If the property is in France ou en Espagne, why should an SCI be created while a Belgian resident can realise the investment, directly or through their Belgian real estate company?
- Once the house has been acquired, we will illustrate the consequences of a change of residence due i.e. to the occupation of the second residence abroad permanently.
- Should emphasis be placed on the "situs" of properties (holdings in foreign listed companies)? Should wealth management integrate the inheritance aspect and look at diversifying/determining this portfolio?
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
After completing the theoretical (3hrs.) and practical (7hrs.) components, the students will be able to grasp double taxation problems in the absence of planning, then to understand/critique/encipher a case of international estate/wealth planning.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Introductory course in tax law. Core course in the complementary Master's in tax law. Estate planning course. A basic knowledge of accountancy's principles is certainly a « plus », i.e. for allowing a rough estimation of the value of company's shares, based on its balance sheet), even in order to solve more easily the "case studies".
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
...
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)
Face-to-face.
Recommended or required readings
The language of instruction is French but the written documentation is in English for the Anglo-Saxon and foreign laws (PowerPoint slides and on-line PDF documents).
Assessment methods and criteria
Students will be assessed on their capacity to determine a civil devolution in an international environment and to encipher the cost of the inheritance tax in the country of residence (Belgium) and in the foreign countries concerned. They will be assessed too on their capacity to analyse, critique and even offer basic international estate planning (including figures), independent of the Belgian perspective in the matter.
The assessment will be based on the written examination for 80% (16/20) and on the personal involvement of the student in the course for 20% (4/20), mainly via the resolution of a case study which has to be sent per email before the last course and before the first session. In this respect, we strongly suggest or recommend a good communication with the teacher via an exchange of mails, even if the student cannot attend classes.
An open-book (in the computer room with access to courses and international databases like IBFD International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation), written examination in each of the first and second session (for the second session, subject to passing the first, there is a possibility of a short debriefing at the end of the examination, on request).
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
- Lectures (Presentation of theory illustrated by examples and practical cases).
- 2 sessions of 3 hours and 1 of 4 hours, Saturday mornings from 9am to 1pm or 2pm.
Contacts
taxsaving@skynet.be; guy.jorion@ulg.ac.be
Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the May-June 2020 session
Teaching methods implemented : distance-learning
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Assessment subjects
No translation.
Assessment methods
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Contacts
Guy Jorion : taxsaving@skynet.be
Student Office : laetitia.debraz@uliege.be
Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the Aug-Sept 2020 session
Assessment subjects
No translation.
Assessment methods
No translation.
Contacts
Guy Jorion : taxsaving@skynet.be
Apparitorat : laetitia.debraz@uliege.be
Items online
lecture's notes
All the lecture's notes are available on the HD campus