Since 2003, Healy Consultants Group has assisted our Clients with starting their company in Belgium. Our services include i) Belgium business registration ii) government license registration iii) Belgium business bank account opening iv) employee recruitment strategies v) visa strategies and vi) office rental solutions.

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Belgium business setup summary

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• Advantages and disadvantages

  Advantages of Belgium company registration

  

  1. It is easy to register a new company in Belgium, as this can be done with only i) one shareholder, investing a minimum of €18,550 in the company’s capital and ii) one director. Both can be foreigners and do not need to be ordinarily residing in Belgium;
  2. Belgium is a great place to start a trading company because:
     • Our Clients’ sales will benefit from the size of the local market: Belgium has indeed a population of 11 million with a GDP per capita of €37,000 as of 2015. The total market size is €412 billion;
     • Due the country’s EU membership, a Belgium resident company enjoys advantages including i) lack of trade restrictions ii) free movement of capital and labor iii) reduction or exemption from withholding taxes on foreign payments and iv) access to an integrated European market of 500M people;
     • Companies registered in Belgium will also benefit from the country’s excellent transportation infrastructure, ranked as the 21^st best in the world according to the World Economic Forum. Ports are notably ranked as the 3^rd best in the European Union, after the Netherlands and Finland;
     • While Belgium has no free trade zones, the country does have bonded warehouses located near the main port of Antwerp and the national airport north of Brussels. In addition, with the authorization of the customs authorities, a firm may create a private bonded warehouse and thereby delay and even avoid payment of customs duties;
     • Belgium also shares borders with main European markets including i) Germany ii) Netherlands iii) the United Kingdom and iv) France;
     • For all the reasons listed above, the World Bank currently ranks Belgium as the best place in the world for a company to trade across borders.
  3. Our Clients forming a holding company in Belgium will benefit from the following advantages:
     • Belgium holding companies benefit from a reduced corporate tax rate of 4% on dividends received by both global and local subsidiaries, provided that the holding company has owned at least 10% of their shares during the preceding year;
     • Thanks to EU Parent/Subsidiary Directive, dividends paid to a Belgian holding company by European Union (EU) subsidiaries are also exempt from dividend withholding tax;
     • Belgium has signed double taxation avoidance agreements with over 85 countries, including i) Australia ii) China iii) Germany iv) Hong Kong v) Singapore vi) the United States and vii) the United Kingdom.
  4. It is easy to open global corporate bank accounts to support Belgium company formation. Healy Consultants works with internationally recognized banks such as i) HSBC ii) Standard Chartered and iii) Citibank to provide corporate bank account services in Belgium;
  5. Belgium has been positively ranked in the 20^th position (out of 137 countries) in the Global Competitiveness Index 2017-2018 edition. This is largely due to the country’s i) excellent levels of health and primary education, ii) excellence in business sophistication and iii) world-class infrastructural facilities.

  Disadvantages of Belgium company registration

  1. Our Clients registering a company in Belgium will have to pay a significant amount of tax, because:
     • The standard corporate tax rate of 25% is one of Europe’s highest. The employees and employers social security contributions add up to 38% of the employees’ gross salaries;
     • All companies are required to register for value added tax, which standard rate is 21%;
     • Businesses are also required to pay several other taxes uncommon in other countries, resulting in an average effective tax rates of 58% of their annual earnings according to the World Bank.
  2. According to the location of the company, the official language will either be i) French ii) Flemish or iii) German. Consequently, all corporate documents will have to be translated in at least one of these languages, as well as contracts signed with local employees and customers;
  3. While the local workforce is efficient and well-trained, labor costs are recorded by Eurostat at €40 per hour, the 3^rd highest level in Europe. Belgium has also the second highest minimum salary in Europe, fixed at €1,500 per month, just after Luxembourg;
  4. Belgium is the second-most expensive region in the EU region in terms of price of electricity. Locally registered and active companies are likely to face high electricity prices majorly due to network costs, taxes, surcharges and certificate schemes.

• Best uses for Belgium company

  A few best uses for our international Clients’ Belgium company is for the following purposes:

  1. As a base to reach the European market:
     • According to 2016 KOF Index of Globalisation, Belgium was ranked 3^rd in the world, indicating its limited trade restrictions and openness to foreign trade;
     • Belgium is also among the world’s top 20 exporters with its main export destinations to Germany, France, Netherlands and the UK;
     • A staggering 80% of Europe’s purchasing power lies within a radius of 800km from Brussels; Consequently our Clients can tap into this pool of 500 million consumers.
  2. A distribution channel:
     • Belgium’s dense interconnected transport network offers our Clients’ business efficient distribution solutions;
     • Additionally, Belgium is supported by world-class telecommunication and Internet infrastructures;
     • A Belgium company will be ideal for our Clients who are looking to establish a logistics company or looking to outsource their distribution channels.
  3. Innovation and IP centres:
     • The Belgian government strongly welcomes businesses with R&D, investment in capital goods and innovation activities;
     • With R&D tax credits and IP regime available, companies can expect to deduct up to 85% of net income derived from qualifying assets.