In Belgium, performing artists’ neighbouring rights are subject to withholding tax. By law, PlayRight is obliged to withhold 15% tax (minus flat-rate costs) from any rights it pays out. PlayRight then passes on this withholding tax to the Belgian State.

Annual ceiling 

The gross ceiling of neighbouring rights is indexed annually, for the 2021 income the limit is €62.550 (2022 tax return). When copyrights and neighbouring rights received in 2021 exceed the ceiling of €62.550, the collecting societies are required to apply a withholding tax of 30%. If your neighbouring rights exceed the amount of €62.550 we recommend to consult a tax specialist who can give you advice relevant to all the elements of your personal situation.

A digressive deduction of fixed costs is applied by band of income : max.€ 12.510

• 50% on the first band of gross income between €0 and €16.680 (indexed income 2021 tax return 2022),
• 25% on the next band between €16.681 and €33.360 (indexed income 2021 tax return 2022),
• No deduction of fixed costs above €33.360 (indexed income 2021 tax return 2022).

We created some short guidelines to help you with the declaration of your rights, to be downloaded by clicking on the following image: