Profile details
About Axel Haelterman
Axel is a leading tax practitioner in Belgium, acting on major national and international transactional, advisory and contentious matters.
He has a broad-ranging practice, advising corporate clients, financial institutions, investment banks and public authorities on Belgian and international tax issues, including financial instruments, bank taxation, international acquisition structures and structured finance.
Axel is also recognised for his expertise in complex tax litigation (with landmark tax decisions).
He is regularly consulted by the Belgian Parliament, federal government and regional governments on a variety of issues, including the drafting of new tax legislation and European and constitutional issues. This hands-on experience gives him a unique perspective.
Axel is fluent in Dutch, French, English and German.
Recent work
- Advising multinational corporate clients in their challenge to a European Commission decision that Belgian tax rulings on 'excess profit' amounted to unlawful state aid and that unpaid taxes should be paid back to the Belgian state. Together with members of our antitrust, competition and trade team, helping these clients lodge a challenge with the General Court of the European Union seeking annulment of the EC decision and an appeal against the recovery request from the Belgian authorities.
- Advising Telenet, Belgium’s largest cable company, on the tax aspects of the post-closing restructuring and integration of the group following the recent acquisitions of BASE and SFR in Belgium and Luxembourg, alongside our Brussels corporate team.
- Advising two major listed international corporate groups concerning the restructuring of their group financing following the abolition of the former Belgian notional interest deduction (obtaining land mark tax rulings).
- Advising Etex group on the tax aspects of the placement of Schuldschein loans and of the first syndicated EU-wide factoring programme of the group.
- Advising Blackrock Global Funds on a large settlement with the Belgian tax authorities allowing the reimbursement of Belgian withholding taxes.
- Advising Groupe Bertrand and Quick Restaurant on the pre-sale tax restructuring and sale of its Belgian and Luxembourg operations to Kharis Capital, the owner of the Burger King licence in Belgium and Luxembourg.
Qualifications
Education
- Columbia University, New York, US (master in law)
- Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium (PhD in tax)
Professional memberships
- Brussels Bar
Additional responsibilities
- Professor in tax law at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium