Digital Belgium Offers Innovative SMEs A Tax Break

By now, governments across the globe are well aware that in promoting digital invoicing and procurement methods, they can save millions of dollars and provide more business to local small business suppliers. Belgium is the latest jurisdiction to introduce an e-invoicing scheme for its SMEs, but with an added bonus: officials are also offering tax breaks to small businesses.

According to reports, Belgium’s Digital Agenda minister Alexander de Croo announced a new strategy to expand the existing Digital Belgium program, aimed at slinging the nation into the Top 3 of the European Union’s Digital Economy and Society Index in the next five years, according to reports from the Wireless Federation.

De Croo is now looking to strengthen federal investment in digital procurement infrastructure, boosting confidence in digital security, and establishing an entirely electronic communication space for the government by 2020.

In addition, the program includes major pushes to incentivize digital invoicing. Reports said the government is looking to connect with the private sector and introduce training programs to educate business owners on digitization efforts. Further, de Croo said that the scheme will also introduce a tax break for startups that support crowdfunding, as well as federal support for startups that work to innovate within the eCommerce space.

E-invoicing, de Croo said, will be mandatory for all government suppliers starting next year.

De Croo’s multifaceted plan to digitize Belgium’s government and businesses follows the official’s announcement last February that he was working toward an e-invoicing mandate within the government for the next five years. It is unclear why or how de Croo has secured this mandate to appear as soon as next year, however.

Belgium’s digital procurement efforts have been developing for months. Invoice management service provider Basware became the first such company to partner with the Belgian government to provide a federal e-invoicing and e-procurement platform last September.