Petitions to the Chamber of Deputies

OBJECT : En 2024, l’État luxembourgeois a versé 1,06 milliard d’euros d’allocations familiales au profit de près de 121 800 enfants. Près de la moitié de ce milliard (47%) a été versée à l'étranger. Or, parmi ces parents qui reçoivent l'argent du Luxembourg à l'étranger, certains après une séparation n'ont plus aucun lien avec le Luxembourg, ont refait leur vie et vivent même parfois loin des frontières. En raison du droit de garde, même en partie partagée, ils bénéficient de l'intégralité des allocations familiales luxembourgeoises grâce à l'autre parent travaillant toujours au Luxembourg mais qui n'en voit pas la couleur. Certains travailleurs au Luxembourg, qui se sont exprimés dans la presse nationale luxembourgeoise, ont indiqué ne même plus recevoir les courriers de la Zukunftskeess concernant ces droits qui vont directement à l'ex-conjoint(e).

OBJECT : I. Subject of the petition The petition asks the Chamber of Deputies to amend the law of 10 August 1915 on commercial companies (the "Company Law") in order to expressly recognise the possibility, for an existing shareholder, to contribute equity to a Luxembourg company without receiving new shares in return. This practice, common in Luxembourg, is currently provided for only by accounting law, and not by company law. The absence of a statutory framework creates legal uncertainty for companies, shareholders, and creditors. The petition further asks that the tax treatment of such contributions be clarified, either by way of an amendment to the law of 4 December 1967 on income tax, or through a circular issued by the tax authorities. II. Background and current legal situation Contributing equity to a company without receiving new shares in return is a common operation in Luxembourg, particularly within groups of companies. It allows the equity of a company to be increased quickly, without the costs of a traditional capital increase by notarial deed. Yet this operation is only governed by accounting law (under capital account 115 of the Luxembourg Standard Chart of Accounts). Neither the Company Law nor any other company-law text sets out its legal effects, the conditions under which it may be carried out, the rights and duties of the contributing shareholders, or its consequences in the event of insolvency, liquidation or transfer of shares of the company. This absence of a legal framework has already given rise to unfavourable court decisions. In 2022, the Higher Administrative Court ruled that such contributions are not taken into account for the purposes of the parent-subsidiary tax regime. The result is a mismatch between the accounting treatment (which considers them as equity) and the tax treatment (which disregards them), to the detriment of legal certainty and the attractiveness of Luxembourg.

OBJECT : Currently, various airlines impose strict weight limits for animals traveling in the cabin, along with very restrictive size requirements. These conditions exclude many small dogs that only slightly exceed this limit, particularly dogs weighing around 10 to 12 kg, which are nonetheless suitable for cabin travel under appropriate conditions. In practice, these animals are often calm, accustomed to traveling, and able to remain in a suitable carrier under the seat. However, they are systematically refused in the cabin and must travel in the hold, which can cause stress and pose risks to their well-being. This petition proposes a reasonable adjustment of the current rules: increasing the allowed weight limit in the cabin to 12 kg (excluding the transport bag), no longer penalizing passengers by including the weight of the bag in the limit, adapting the permitted dimensions to better reflect the reality of small-sized animals, maintaining strict safety and transport requirements (appropriate carrier, calm animal). The objective is to better balance passenger safety with animal welfare by adapting the rules to real and common situations. We call on the Luxembourg authorities to encourage an evolution of these conditions in order to make them fairer, more proportionate, and better suited to current needs.