Last Week in Taxes: A 1 May reset — Liberia's GST rises, Belgium rewires its VAT chain (Issue #3)

In brief — two 1 May milestones:

• Liberia raised its services GST from 12% to 13% (from 1 May 2026), ahead of a planned 2027 VAT.
• Belgium replaced the VAT current account with a new “provision account” (from 1 May 2026).

The first of the month is when tax changes tend to land, and 1 May 2026 was no exception. Two of them are worth flagging — one a rate rise on the road to a bigger reform, the other a quiet rewiring of how a mature VAT system handles money.

Middle East & Africa

Liberia — GST: services rate up to 13%, with VAT on the horizon

Liberia raised its GST on services from 12% to 13% from 1 May 2026 under the Tax Amendment Act. Telecommunications stay at 15%. The Liberia Revenue Authority has flagged this as a step toward a planned switch to an 18% VAT in January 2027. (Liberia Revenue Authority)

What it means: A one-point GST rise is small on its own — but read it as a signpost. Liberia is telegraphing a move from a narrow GST to a full VAT in 2027, which is a far bigger change for anyone trading there. Treat the 13% as the warm-up, not the event.

Europe

Belgium — VAT: the current account becomes a “provision account”

From 1 May 2026 Belgium replaced the long-standing VAT current account with a new VAT provision account (provisierekening / compte-provisions), visible via MyMinfin, with existing credits carried across and refunds managed centrally. The old summer-holiday filing extension is gone. (SPF Finances)

What it means: This is the next step of Belgium’s multi-year VAT-chain modernisation. Day to day, the visible change is where your VAT credit sits and how refunds flow through MyMinfin — so confirm your credits transferred cleanly and that your refund routing still works. The abolished summer extension also means deadlines you may have relied on in July–August no longer stretch.

The thread

• Same date, opposite ends of the maturity curve. Liberia is building toward its first VAT; Belgium is fine-tuning one of Europe’s oldest. The 1st of the month carries both.
• “Compliance” changes still move money. Belgium didn’t touch a rate, but where your credit lives and when refunds arrive is a cash-flow question — worth a check, not a shrug.

Sources

• Liberia: Liberia Revenue Authority — adjustment to GST rates.
• Belgium: SPF Finances — compte courant TVA / compte-provisions.

All sources captured 16 June 2026.