Sources
- Sylvain Plasschaert (Govecor)
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Sylvain Plasschaert (born 13 May 1929) is a former Belgian professor in law. He was a member of the Coudenberg group, a Belgian federalist think tank.
He holds a Bachelor in Philosophy, Doctor of Law and Economics, and Master of Law.
He worked as fiscal economist at the World Bank from 1961 until 1965 and was Submanager at the Banque de Bruxelles (Brussels and Antwerp) from 1965 until 1971. Until October 1994, he worked as Professor at the University Faculties St Ignatius (UFSIA) of the University of Antwerp (Full-time, 1971–1994) and at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Part-time, 1965–99). For the EU funded Research Project Govecor (2001–2004) he co-wrote the national reports for Belgium. He is currently Advisory Board Member of the prestigious think tank the European Institute for Asian Studies.
Missions:
As staff member of the World Bank
-India, 1962 : 'report on Indian tax structure, at the level of the States (= fiscal federalism)‘: 3 months in the field
-Mexico, 1963 : ‘ domestic resource mobilisation', within a large mission; 2 months in the field, 1965, 'assessing the state of public finances and, 1967, one month 'assessment of the recent tax reform'
-Turkey, 1963, seconded to the OECD, 'the public finance and the monetary sectors'; within a review of the Turkish development plan;, -one month in the field;
-assisting the head of mission, Prof. Berrill, at King's College, Cambridge, two weeks
-Portugal, 1964, as member of a joint World Bank-IMF technical assistance mission, led by Prof. Erik Lundberg (Stockholm), 'on monetary and budgetary matters': tax reform proposals'; 3 months in the field
As consultant
-Senegal, 1972, for World Bank : 'analysis of the tax system and proposals for reform', 1982, for World Bank : 'public finances ‘
-Algeria, 1972, for World Bank : 'domestic resource mobilization ‘
-Sudan, 1974, for IMF : ‘ fiscal relations between central and provincial governments ‘
-Rapporteur about ‘ transfer pricing ‘ at Colloquy of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, 1980 on 'international tax evasion and avoidance'
-Economic Development Institute of the World Bank, Washington, 1981: drafting of a case-study on Theobroma, a fictional African country, about 'structural adjustment problems ‘ (in French)
-Trinidad and Cameroon, 1982, for the UN Centre for Transnational Corporations: seminars on 'transfer pricing’and 'tax incentives'
-Indonesia, for UN Centre on Transnational Corporations : -1984, analysis of 'transfer pricing problems' -1986, 'transfer pricing problems in the oil sector ‘
-Jamaica, April, for the EEC Commission (mission chief): -1982, 'study of tax system, with a view to its computerisation ‘; -1984: follow-up mission
-Belgian member of a group of experts for the European Commission, 1984-86: 'financing infrastructural investments'
-Morocco, 1986, within World Bank mission : ‘ tax policies ‘ (with reform proposals)
-Burundi, 1990, for M+R International, Brussels, funded by World Bank: 'tax problems of rural municipalities'
-China, 1990, for the UN Centre for Transnational Corporations : workshop at . Zuhai on 'control of transfer pricing manipulations'
-Editor of book of readings on ‘'Transfer Pricing and International Taxation', vol.14 in 20-volume UN Library on Transnational Corporations, published by Routledge for the UN Centre for Transnational Corporations, 1994
-Bulgaria, 1993, for KPMG Washington, funded by the World Bank: 'privatisation at municipal levels of government'
-Chapters on Belgium and the Netherlands for a study on ‘ interregional shifts in industrial activities', 1993-94, for LCA Europe, Paris and CEDRE, Strasbourg, funded by the EEC Commission
-Paraguay, March 1994, for the ‘ Foreign Investment Advisory Service 'of IFC, Washington: 'evaluation of tax incentive legislation'.
-Namibia, July 1994, for ‘ Société d’Etudes et de Conseil ‘, Louvain-la- Neuve and University of Warwick: ‘ budget procedures ‘, within a 'Public Expenditure Review', funded by the World Bank
-Tanzania, July 1995, progress report on implementation of World Bank loan to improve the legal system in Tanzania
-Member of a panel of independent experts, on 'company taxation', by the DG XXII of the EU -Commission, June 1999- February 2001
-Belgian Member for a study by the Transeuropean Policy Studies Association (TEPSA) on (open) methods of self-coordination (in the EU)’, 2002-04
-Research, in Shanghai and Beijing on ‘ The tax treatment of foreign-funded enterprises in China;
-Present Problems and Outlook “, September –November 1999, for the China-Europe Managementt Center, Antwerp
-Coordinator, and main author, of Report to the European Parliament about Own resources: Evolution of the system in the EU-25', for the Study Group of European Policies, Brussels, 2005
-Co-author and directing a group of young scholars at the European Institute of Asian Studies, in Brussels on 'Towards a bilateral investment agreement between Taiwan and the EU ?’, summer 2014
1. "België in alle staten. Vlaanderen en Wallonië in een Brusselse Knoop ? ”( 'Belgium in all its states. Flanders and Wallonia in a Brussels Knot"?), Garant, 2009, 150 p.
1.bis (in French translation, by the author and his spouse) “ La Belgique dans tous ses états. La Flandre, la Wallonie dans un nœud bruxellois? « Le Cri, April 2010, 182 p.. .
2. "China: Inzicht in zijn Doorbraak ('China : Insight in its Surge'), Leuven : Davidsfonds, 2007, 295 p.
3. Wie is bang van China? Geschiedenis, Economie, Toekomst “(‘ Who is afraid of China? History, Economy, Prospects ‘) Leuven: Davidsfonds, 2001, 220 p.
4. "The micro-economic impact of the enlargement of the European Union “( chapters in Dutch or French), ( coordinator) in 'Studia Diplomatica', special issue, 2003, 178 p.
5. “ Transfer Pricing and International Taxation “ (editor), vol.14 of the United Nations Library on Transnational Corporations, London: Routledge, 1994, 330 p. ; survey-introduction also in “ Transnational Corporations and World Development “, London : International Thomson Business Press, 1996, p. 394-417
6. "Multinational and national Economic Policies, with particular Reference to Latin America (editor), Rome-Freiburg: Herder Verlag, 1989, 245 p.
7. "Schedular, Global and Dualistic Systems of Income Taxation “,Amsterdam, Bureau for International Fiscal Documentation, 1988, 188 p., translated into Chinese
8. "Transfer Pricing and Multinational Enterprises. An Overview of Concepts, Mechanisms and Regulations “, Westlead: Saxon House and ECSIM, 1979, 120 p.; translated into French and (expanded version) into Italian
9. "Financiële Aspecten van de Regionalisatie. Oriëntaties voor een rationeel systeem van middelenvoorziening van de Gewesten in België" ('financial aspects of the regionalisation in Belgium'.) Published by the 'Gewestelijke Economische Raad voor Vlaanderen ‘, 1973, 90 p..,translated into French. Was awarded the 1976 Prize for 'Public Law and Local Economies ‘ of the 'Crédit Communal-Gemeentekrediet ‘ 10. "Cedulaire, globale en gemengde types van inkomstenbelastingen", ('Schedular, global and mixed Types of Income Taxation'), Leuven: Uystpruyst, 1964, XVII+294 p. (= doctoral thesis). Was awarded the 'Vliebergh Prize for Economics", 1966
11. "Het Financiewezen in België" ('The financial System in Belgium'), co-author M. Dombrecht, Antwerp: MIM -first edition : 1989, XIX + 473 p. -second edition : 1992, 477 p. -third edition, : 1996, 490 p. -fourth edition : March 2001 (co-authors: M. Dombrecht, D.Heremans, J. Vanneste), Antwerp : Standaard Uitgeverij, 586 p.-fifth edition, 2006, 573 p.
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the south, and the North Sea to the west. It covers an area of 30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of 376/km2 (970/sq mi). Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries, historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states, as it also included parts of northern France. The capital and largest metropolitan region is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven.
Transport in Belgium is facilitated with well-developed road, air, rail and water networks. The rail network has 2,950 km (1,830 mi) of electrified tracks. There are 118,414 km (73,579 mi) of roads, among which there are 1,747 km (1,086 mi) of motorways, 13,892 km (8,632 mi) of main roads and 102,775 km (63,861 mi) of other paved roads. There is also a well-developed urban rail network in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and Charleroi. The ports of Antwerp and Bruges-Zeebrugge are two of the biggest seaports in Europe. Brussels Airport is Belgium's biggest airport.
The economy of Belgium is a highly developed, high-income, mixed economy.
Jean Luc Joseph Marie "Jean-Luc" Dehaene was a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1992 until 1999. During his political career, he was nicknamed "The Plumber", as well as "The Minesweeper", for his ability to negotiate political deadlocks.
The Flemish Movement is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promote Flemish culture and the Dutch language as well as those seeking greater political autonomy for Flanders within Belgium. It also encompasses nationalists who seek the secession of Flanders from Belgium, either through outright independence or unification with the Netherlands.
KBC Group is a Belgian universal multi-channel bank-insurer, focusing on private clients and small and medium-sized enterprises in Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. It was created in 1998 through the merger of Kredietbank (KB), the cooperative CERA Bank, ABB Insurance, and Fidelitas Insurance. The acronym KBC refers to KredietBank and CERA.
The Flemish Diamond is the Flemish reference to a network of four metropolitan areas in Belgium, three of which are in the central provinces of Flanders, together with the Brussels-Capital Region. It consists of four agglomerations which form the four corners of an abstract diamond shape: Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp and Leuven.
Science and technology in Flanders, being the Flemish Community and more specifically the northern region of Belgium (Europe), is well developed with the presence of several universities and research institutes. These are strongly spread over all Flemish cities, from Kortrijk and Bruges in the Western side, over Ghent as a major university center alongside Antwerp, Brussels and Leuven to Hasselt and Diepenbeek in the Eastern side.
The Coudenberg group was a Belgian federalist think-tank, it was named after the place where the members met, the Coudenberg, one of the seven hillocks on which the centre of Brussels has been built. President of the organization was the lawyer Jean-Pierre De Bandt.
Jean-Pierre, Baron de Bandt is a Belgian lawyer and former President of the Coudenberg group, a Belgian federalist think tank.
Belgian–Dutch relations refer to interstate relations between Belgium and the Netherlands. It can be seen as one of the closest international relationships in existence, marked by shared history, culture, institutions and language, extensive people-to-people links, aligned security interests, sporting tournaments and vibrant trade and investment cooperation. Both nations are members of the European Union and NATO and, together with Luxembourg, form the Low Countries and the Benelux economic union.
Paul Bernd Spahn is emeritus professor of public finance at the Goethe University Frankfurt.
Formulary apportionment, also known as unitary taxation, is a method of splitting the total pre-tax profit earned by a multinational between the tax jurisdictions where it does business. It is an alternative to separate entity accounting, under which a branch or subsidiary within the jurisdiction is accounted for as a separate entity, requiring prices for transactions with other parts of the corporation or group to be assigned according to the arm's length standard commonly used in transfer pricing. In contrast, formulary apportionment attributes a portion of a multinational's total worldwide profit to each jurisdiction, based on factors such as the proportion of sales, assets or payroll in that jurisdiction.
Belgium was heavily involved in the early development of railway transport. Belgium was the second country in Europe, after Great Britain, to open a railway and produce locomotives. The first line, between the cities of Brussels and Mechelen opened in 1835. Belgium was the first state in Europe to create a national railway network and the first to possess a nationalised railway system. The network expanded fast as Belgium industrialised, and by the early 20th century was increasingly under state-control. The nationalised railways, under the umbrella organisation National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB), retained their monopoly until liberalisation in the 2000s.
Solar power in Belgium reached an installed capacity of 9.9 GW at the end of 2023, an increase of 1.8 GW from 2022.
Koen Geens is a Belgian jurist and politician of the Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) who served as the Minister of Justice and as Deputy Prime Minister in the governments of Prime Ministers Charles Michel and Sophie Wilmès.
Jan Van der Stock is a Belgian art historian and exhibition curator. He is a full professor at the University of Leuven, where he lectures on Medieval and Renaissance Arts, Graphic Arts, Iconography, Iconology, and Curatorship. He is the director of Illuminare – Centre for the Study of Medieval Art and holder of the Van der Weyden Chair – Paul & Dora Janssen, the Veronique Vandekerchove Chair of the City of Leuven and the Chair of Medieval Sculpture in the Low Countries. Jan Van der Stock was the husband of Christiane Timmerman and is a father of two.
The Catholic University of Leuven was one of Belgium's major universities. It split along linguistic lines after a period of civil unrest in 1967–68 commonly known as the Leuven Affair in French and Flemish Leuven, based on a contemporary slogan, in Dutch. The crisis shook Belgian politics and led to the fall of the government of Paul Vanden Boeynants. It marked an escalation of the linguistic tension in Belgium after World War II and had lasting consequences for other bilingual institutions in Belgium within higher education and politics alike. In 1970 the first of several state reforms occurred, marking the start of Belgium's transition to a federal state.
