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24 DECEMBER 1999. - Act containing the Ways and Averages of the Fiscal Year 2000 (1)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The House of Representatives adopted and sanctioned the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 74, 3° of the Constitution.
Art. 2. For the fiscal year 2000, the current state revenues are assessed:
For tax revenues, at . . . . . F 1 490 497 800 000
For non-tax revenues, to . . . . . F 104 679 800 000
Be together. F 1,595 177 600 000
in accordance with Part I of the attached table.
Art. 3. For the fiscal year 2000, capital revenues are estimated at the sum of CHF 14,355,50,000, in accordance with Part II of the attached table.
Art. 4. For the fiscal year 2000, the proceeds of borrowings are estimated at CHF116.550,000, in accordance with Part III of the attached table.
Art. 5. Direct and indirect taxes, principal and additional decimals for the benefit of the State, existing as at 31 December 1999, will be recovered during the year 2000 according to the laws, decrees and tariffs that regulate the attitude and perception, including laws, decrees and tariffs that have only a temporary or provisional character.
Art. 6. The application of Articles 3 and 4, § 1^er, of the Act of 28 December 1954 containing the budget of the Ways and Means for the year 1955, is extended until 31 December 2000.
Art. 7. The King may, within the limits and conditions it determines, grant tax exemptions to the revenues of borrowings that, in 2000, would be issued or placed primarily abroad by the State, communities, regions, provinces, agglomerations, municipalities and public institutions or bodies, and in particular the Treasury Bills in foreign currency.
With respect to the income of the securities of these borrowings that would be held by Belgian residents, however, tax exemptions can only be granted to the sole financial institutions or companies assimilated there and professional investors referred to in article 105, 1 and 3°, of the Royal Decree of 27 August 1993 of the execution of the Income Tax Code 1992.
Art. 8. § 1^er. To cover the insufficiency of revenues in relation to the expenditures of the year 2000, including the repayment of borrowings and any expenses resulting from the financial management operations referred to in § 3, 1°, below, or the passenger cash imbalances in the fiscal year:
1° The King is authorized to issue public loans.
When the King has established a general framework for the issuance of borrowings that determines the limits of powers that may be delegated, the Minister of Finance may be authorized to issue, during the fiscal year, the borrowings that fall within that framework;
2° The Minister of Finance is authorized to issue cash certificates, Treasury bills or any other interest-bearing instrument,
both in Belgium and abroad, in Belgian francs, in euro and in foreign currencies.
§ 2. The main objective of public debt management is to minimize the financial cost of the State's debt as part of market risk management and operational risks and in accordance with the overall objectives of fiscal policy and monetary policy.
To this end, the Minister of Finance, on the proposal of the Strategic Debt Committee operating within the Treasury Administration, determines the general guidelines for the management of the State's debt, in particular the structure of the debt portfolio and the level of risks that may be associated with it.
The Strategic Debt Committee shall make arrangements for the implementation of these general guidelines.
These are the framework for the implementation of the financial transactions themselves referred to by the Formed Debt Agency within the Treasury Board Administration.
§ 3. The Minister of Finance is authorized:
1° to conclude any financial management transaction within the limits determined under § 2 above.
A financial management operation means:
(a) Treasury's day-to-day operations, namely, the financial transactions resulting from the need to ensure a daily cash balance;
(b) trade in securities;
(c) the adaptation of existing contractual conditions or terms of refund of borrowings, carried out in agreement with lenders and in accordance with market conditions;
(d) interest swaps and foreign exchange swaps, options, futures contracts and any other financial and budgetary risk management instrument related to the State's debt and authorized by the Minister of Finance under § 2 above;
(e) investments of any kind, including investments necessary for the continuity of Treasury funding;
2° by derogation from Article 6 of the Act of 2 August 1955 deleting the Public Debt Fund and Article 7 of the Royal Decree of 27 February 1956 regulating the operation of the Amortization Fund created by the said law, to maintain in deposit with the State Caissier, titles to the holder redeemed for the amortization, in order to assign them, if necessary, to
3° complementary to exchanges of existing debt securities against new linear obligations, to liquidate prorated interest payments related to securities in circulation, by way of handover to persons entitled to linear obligations;
4° in accordance with the Convention of 5 January 1994 with the National Bank of Belgium, to create dematerialized securities representative of the debt of the State, having the same characteristics as those of the securities in circulation, in order to lend these short-term securities to the National Bank of Belgium according to the needs of its securities compensation system;
5° to issue dematerialized securities denominated in foreign currency prior to the day of the value of their subscription, in order to allow investors to dispose of these value-day securities in the compensation systems referred to in Article 1^er, § 2, b and c, of the Royal Decree of 14 June 1994 establishing the rules applicable to the maintenance of dematerialized securities in foreign currencies or in units of accounts other than the euro.
§ 4. 1° By derogation from Article 4 of the co-ordinated Acts of 17 July 1991 on State Accounting, the proceeds of short-term financing instruments (cash certificates, Treasury bills and similar instruments) are paid on cash accounts.
2° In order to ensure the Continuity of Treasury Funding, the authorizations referred to in § 1, 1 and 2° also apply to borrowings whose conditions are fixed in previous fiscal years and whose proceeds are paid out in 2000.
3° The Minister of Finance is authorized to manage cash in foreign currencies to avoid any impact of foreign currency transactions in the context of the Treasury's financial management on the conduct of monetary policy.
4° Borrowing products resulting from the conclusion of Treasury Financial Management Operations as well as:
(a) interim expenditure on asset formation and associated costs;
(b) Revenues related to the realization of constituted assets, the associated expenses and revenues derived from these assets may be recorded on special financial accounts in Belgian francs, will or foreign currencies, open for this purpose to the National Bank of Belgium, regardless of the immediate account of the Treasury and which are managed by the Minister of Finance.
Constituted assets may also be recorded in special securities accounts in Belgian francs, in euro or in foreign currencies, opened on behalf of the Treasury in the securities compensation system of the National Bank of Belgium or with national or international clearing bodies.
The Minister of Finance shall determine, where appropriate, the terms and conditions for the opening and management of these accounts and those relating to their periodic balances.
§ 5. The Minister of Finance may delegate to the general officials of the Treasury Board and to the staff of the Formed Debt Agency within the Treasury Board which he designates for the specific tasks provided by him:
(a) the power to determine, within the limits provided by the King and in accordance with the requirements of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, the amount and financial conditions of the emissions of public borrowing referred to in § 1^er, 1°, as well as the powers necessary for the end of these emissions;
(b) the powers referred to in § 1^er, 2°, § 3, 1° to 5° and § 4, 3° and 4°.
Art. 9. The Minister of Finance is authorized to deduct State borrowing charges:
1° the income of the investments of the proceeds of borrowings in Belgian francs or in euro in the context of the Treasury management operations referred to in Article 8, § 3, 1°;
2° the income of the investments of foreign currency borrowing products made in the context of the Treasury management operations referred to in Article 8, § 3, 1°;
3° the revenues or capital allocated to the State as a result of treasury management operations in respect of "wap" of interest or currency, arbitrations, risk coverage such as options or other transactions, carried out by borrowing from the State and for the purpose of alleviating its financial expenses.
Art. 10. By derogation from article 17 of Royal Decree No. 150 of 18 March 1935, coordinating the laws relating to the organization and operation of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and making amendments under the Act of 31 July 1934, the interest rate to be increased in 2000 to consignations, voluntary deposits and bonds of all categories entrusted to the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations Ministres,
Art. 11. For projects under their jurisdiction, for the implementation of Article 5, § 1^er, Regulation (E.C.) No. 1941/81 concerning an integrated development programme for the disadvantaged areas of Belgium, the financial resources to be allocated are paid to the budgets of the Regions.
These financial means are taken from the reimbursements to the Belgian treasury that the European Communities are required to make, as a cost of collection, pursuant to Article 3, 1°, 5th paragraph, of the decision of 21 April 1970 of the Council of Ministers of the European Communities on the replacement of Member States' contributions by resources specific to the European Communities, approved by the law of 23 December 1970.
The amounts to be transferred are determined by the Minister of Finance according to the competitions decided or provided by the Commission of the European Communities.
Art. 12. In accordance with Article 53, 1°, of the special law of 16 January 1989 relating to the financing of the Communities and the Regions, amended by the special law of 16 July 1993 to complete the federal structure of the State, and taking into account the allocation of the interests of delay and the charge of the interests of regional taxes as referred to in Article 4, § 6, of that same special law,
Art. 13. Pursuant to section 53, 2°, of the special law of 16 January 1989 on the financing of the Communities and Regions, as amended by the special law of 16 July 1993 to complete the federal structure of the state, and taking into account the likely balances of the 1999 budget year, the financial means of the Communities, from the assigned parts of the product of the value added tax and the tax of the natural persons are estimated for 83 francs
Art. 14. According to articles 53, 3°, and 35bis of the special law of 16 January 1989 relating to the financing of the Communities and Regions, amended by the special law of 16 July 1993 to complete the federal structure of the State, and taking into account the probable balance of the count of the fiscal year 1999, the financial means of the Regions from the assigned parts of the income of the tax of the natural persons are estimated, for the fiscal year 2000, at 228 francs
Art. 15. Revenues for the benefit of the Communities and Regions are paid, as the case may be, to a special fund under section 18 of the Special Section of the General Estimates or to a Treasury Board Account.
Art. 16. This Act comes into force on 1^er January 2000.
Promulgate this law, order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 24 December 1999.
ALBERT
By the King:
The Minister of Budget,
J. VANDE LANOTTE
Minister of Finance,
D. REYNDERS
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
Mr. VERWILGHEN
____
Note
(1) Regular session 1999-2000.
Chamber of Representatives
Parliamentary documents. - Bill No. 500197/001. - Report, no. 500197/002. - Notice of standing committees, n^bones 500197/003 and 4. - Annex, no. 500197/005. - Annex to the report, No. 500197/006.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion. Meetings of 20, 21 and 22 December 1999. - Adoption. Session of 23 December 1999.

TABLE OF LOI
Income table
As an indication, the amounts of income are also expressed in euros.
It should be noted, however, that in order to avoid the accumulation of arrondi errors, these amounts were calculated at any level by converting amounts to Belgian francs. As a result, euro totals (by chapter, section and title) may not correspond exactly to the total of their Euro components.
For the consultation of the table, see image