Sören Vandeweyer

Sören is a managing associate in our Belgian tax practice. He has a particular interest in Belgian and international tax law with an emphasis on real estate transactions (both share deals and asset deals), VAT matters, tax audits/litigation, the tax structuring of complex equity/finance deals as well as fund structuring. Sören assists clients with complex transactions and issues in various areas of tax law, including direct taxes, VAT and registration duties, thereby not only focusing on the technical aspects of tax but also on the client’s strategic and commercial interests.

Work highlights

Sören has advised and represented clients in a broad range of industries. These include advising:

• Various real estate companies on the tax structuring and due diligence in relation to certain share and/or asset deals. A recent deal concerned the contribution of the shares of six companies (holding nursing homes) into Cofinimmo.
• AXA with respect to the tax structuring of the sale of AXA Bank Belgium to the Crelan group and the acquisition of Crelan Insurance by AXA Belgium as well as the tax structuring of the long-term commercial insurance partnership agreement between both groups.
• Several companies in relation to tax audits, including dawn raids (concerning VAT matters in the supply chain and custom value, and high stakes transfer pricing disputes and excise duties) and tax litigations (including a high profile case concerning an excess profit ruling) against the Belgian Tax Authorities (BBI/ISI).
• EY on the Belgian tax implications of the proposed division of the audit and consulting business both in the hands of the Belgian entities involved in restructuring and the Belgian partners of EY’s Belgian and Luxembourg branch.
• Belfius: advising on the tax (including VAT, which played a major role) due diligence for the acquisition of the remaining shares of its internal captive IT subsidiary. Advising on the VAT impact of outsourcing its IT services to a third party, taking into account Belfius’s existing VAT group.
• Solvay: advising on the tax aspects of their acquisition of a new headquarters in Brussels (Haren).
• Euroclear with respect to the VAT structuring of service agreements between Euroclear and MFEX following the acquisition of 100% of the shares in MFEX Holding AB, the holding company for MFEX group.
• A major Belgian biotech company in relation to the filing of a cross-border VAT ruling (involving the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Italy and Spain) with respect to the VAT treatment of transfer pricing corrections.
• On the tax structuring of investment funds in typical Master/Feeder structures both at the level of the fund and of the corporate and individual investors.

Sören holds a Master’s in law from the University of Leuven/University of Tilburg (Research Master program). Sören holds also a Master’s in Communication Sciences as well as a Master’s in European Studies from the University of Leuven.

Sören assists clients in Dutch, English and French.

• M. POSSOZ AND S. VANDEWEYER, “Belgium - Option to Subject the Letting of Immovable Property to VAT”, International VAT Monitor, 2019 (Volume 30), No. 3.
• J. VAN CAUWENBERGHE AND S. VANDEWEYER, “Stand van zaken inzake btw-aftrek actieve holdings na het arrest Finanzamt R”, Fisc.Act. 2022/31, p. 7-11.