Pascale Hautfenne

Lawyer – Partner

pascale.hautfenne@afschrift.com
+32 2 646 46 36

After obtaining her special degree in tax law, Pascale joined Thierry Afschrift’s team in 1996, first as a trainee lawyer, then as an associate lawyer.

At the same time, she started a scientific career by becoming an assistant at the ULB Law Faculty for the Introduction to Law and Legal Methodology course.

She was also a lecturer at the Solvay Business School, teaching in-depth questions on personal income tax. She then joined the Luxembourg Bar for four years, on the List IV of Community Lawyers, and then refocused on her activities in Brussels.

She now teaches the course on Free choice of the least taxed path and tax abuse. She was a member of the faculty council of the Faculty of Law of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (scientific body). Planning within the framework of the legal choice of the least taxed path is a fundamental element of her practice.

The course she gives on this subject at Solvay is an opportunity to discuss on a theoretical level, but also on a practical level, what this freedom and this right represent in this new era of tax law that we have been experiencing for a few years, and which must be taken into account.

Pascale regularly publishes articles and contributions in French and English on Belgian and international taxation and is a member of International Fiscal Association. She is the editor-in-chief of Idefisc, a quarterly journal of tax news, and she regularly participates in colloquiums and university or continuing education courses on subjects such as the prohibition of arbitrariness in tax law or the taxation of Belgian workers in Luxembourg.

She also holds mandates in non-profit institutions.

Member of the Bar

  • Member of the Brussels Bar since 1996

Languages

  • French
  • Dutch
  • English

Publications

  • Bank secrecy in tax law” (Rev. B. compt., 1997-3);
  • The taxpayer and the tax authorities – The problem of proof” (Rev.B. compt., 1998-2);
  • “Merger by acquisition, reduction of capital and principle of tax neutrality” (J.L.M.B., 1998, 942);
  • “Objection to property tax surcharges and the authority of the administrator” (J.L.M.B., 1998, 952);
  • “Reflections on the compliance with the law of the circulars of the Banking and Finance Commission” (J.D.F., 1998, 129);
  • “Tax law and the principles of good management” (obs under Civ Brussels, December 2, 1997, J.L.M.B. 1999: 1124 et seq. ….);
  • “The reform of the corporate tax by the law of December 24, 2002” (J.T., 2003, p.393 et seq.);
  • “Cash companies and miscellaneous income”, L.M.B., 2002.
  • “Exemption of life insurance contracts of more than eight years: a nanosecond is enough”, G.C.F., 2008/4
  • “Bond SICAVs without a European passport: removal of the tax exemption” , Actualités fiscales, 2013, with S. SEGIER
  • Publications – download the complete list
  • Participation in conferences, seminars and symposiums – download the complete list

Diplomas

  • Licence en droit (Catholic University of Leuven) with great distinction (1994).
  • Special degree in tax law (Université libre de Bruxelles) with distinction (1996).

Lectures

  • HAUTFENNE, “La légalité des circulaires de la Commission bancaire et financière”, Control and prevention of tax fraud, M.G.I., 1998
  • HAUTFENNE and I. WOUTERS, “Les avantages de toute nature”, Les mercredis de la comptabilité, Institut des experts comptables, 1998
  • HAUTFENNE, “Le régime fiscal des différentes familles de produits dérivés”, Produits dérivés, Institute for International Research, 1999
  • HAUTFENNE, ” Le droit à la protection de la vie privée et du domicile “, Les droits du contribuable, VANHAM & VANHAM, 2001 ;
  • HAUTFENNE, “L’assurance-vie et la planification fiscale pour les résidents belges”, ACADEMY & FINANCE, 2002.
  • HAUTFENNE, ” Comment éviter la qualification d’abus de droit lors de la transmission de vos biens ? “I.F.E., 2002.
  • HAUTFENNE, “Belgian Tax Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions”, Krakov, 2005.
  • HAUTFENNE, ” La directive épargne et ses nouveaux périls “, 2010
  • HAUTFENNE, “The Belgian or Luxembourg private foundation – Private foundation and inheritance tax: a useful SDA decision for discretionary trusts”, Banking and Personal Finance, 2012
  • HAUTFENNE, “Protecting your heirs”, 2013.
  • HAUTFENNE, “Le fisc ne peut verser dans l’arbitraire”, UCM, 2015
  • HAUTFENNE, “Belgian workers in Luxembourg”, UCM, 2015.

Academic activities

  • Lecturer at the Executive Master in Tax Management, Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Université Libre de Bruxelles (Holder of the course “Legal choice of the least taxed way”).
  • From 1998 to 2009: Assistant at the Law Faculty of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Introduction to Law and Legal Methodology; Léon Ingber; Since 2008: Benoit Frydman and Isabelle Rorive).
  • From 2002 to 2016: Lecturer at the Special Master in Tax Management (Holder of the course “In-depth issues of personal income tax”), Solvay Business School, Université Libre de Bruxelles.
  • Former member of the faculty council of the Faculty of Law of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (scientific body).
  • Expert in charge of the module “Organising the Tax Exposure” of the Belfius Corporate Banking Academy (organised by Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Université Libre de Bruxelles) (2019-2020).