FAQ
On 30 June 2005, the law of 22 June 2005 was published in the Belgian Official Gazette. It allows Belgian companies (and Belgian branches of foreign companies) to deduct from their tax base a fictitious or notional amount of interest based on their adjusted equity capital. This measure has been applicable since 1 January 2006.
Risk capital: Risk capital refers to a company's net equity, including capital, reserves and retained earnings, existing at the end of the previous tax period and expressed (in accordance with Belgium's generally accepted accounting principles) in the company's unconsolidated financial statements for that period. However, certain items are excluded from the definition of risk capital to prevent redundancy and abuse. The amount of risk capital is also increased or decreased by the fluctuations of certain components during the tax period.
Interest rate: The deduction is calculated by multiplying the company's adjusted equity capital by the interest rate applicable to ten-year government bonds.
Carry forward of the deduction: If a company has insufficient taxable profits, it may be carried forward for seven years for deduction purposes.
Impact Belgacom Group: Because of this new law, an alternative exists for the coordination center upon its expiration (currently 31 December 2009). Secondly, the application of the notional interest deduction will enable a tax saving for Belgacom Mobile, ConnectImmo, Telindus and BICS.
To mitigate the impact from the revenue mix on costs, Belgacom takes following cost commitment:
- Organic* Other operating costs: yoy reduction of 4%-5%
- Reported personnel costs flat yoy despite wage indexation of 3%
* excl acquisitions, divestments & non-recurring
Revenue: EUR -83m
EBITDA: EUR 57m
This includes regulation of:
- voice, SMS and data roaming
- MTR and flow through of Fix to Mobile tariffs
- Wholesale leased lines (Brotsoll)
- New transport tariffs for bitstream access
MTR rates excl VAT and incl inflation as set by the BIPT on 29/04/08:
- Fixed-to-mobile tariffs lowered on:1 May 2007, 1 April 2008, 1 July 2008
- Regulator has intention to notify new MTRs for 2010-2012 by end 2009
By mid 2009, regulation for SMS and Wholesale data roaming expected.
All public information on our regulated offer is available on the following website:
http://www.belgacom.be/wholesale/en/jsp/dynamic/homepage.jsp
The ADSL wholesale solution consists of 3 parts:
- Carrier DSL, being the connectivity up to the incumbent's Broadband Access Server.
- BBA: ATM connectivity between de incumbent's Broadband Access Server and the incumbent's POP(s). Pricing depends on the capacity set by the OLO.
- Access line: the leased line between the incumbent's ATM POP(s) and OLO ATM POP(s). Pricing depends on the capacity set by the OLO. The DSL Bitstream solution consists of 2 parts:
- BROBAII DSL: connectivity up to the incumbent's DSLAM.
- ATM transport: connectivity between the incumbent's ATM network and the OLO ATM network.
Under Belgian law, the withholding tax on dividends amounts to 25%. This amount is withheld by Belgacom. Shareholders are paid the net dividend. A different regulation may apply for foreign shareholders, depending on tax agreements. Belgium has agreements with more than 60 countries.
