Ga naar de inhoud

Our origins

Origin

Originally, Interfisc is a Belgian family business that specialises in international human resource activities and & payroll. We were founded in 1972 by the late Robert A.E. Mahieu (3 October 1937 – 21 March 2013), who was deputy manager of the Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce for the Netherlands at the time. Before that time, many Belgian exporters used Dutch commercial agents and wholesalers. However, these were increasingly replaced by representatives in salaried employment. The administration of such employment relationships was not self-evident at the time, as contrary to Belgium, the Netherlands do not have “social secretariats”. The Dutch Tax and Customs Administration did not know how to deal with this group. For this reason, Mr Mahieu founded “Bureau Interfisc”: the first Belgian social secretariat in the Netherlands.

Nassaulaan 13, 16 the hague, the netherlands

However, old-age provisions also needed to be arranged for the representatives, as well as invalidity benefit schemes, a company car, a fuel card, and so on. Things that were not self-evident for a business without a branch in the Netherlands (and which would not be self-evident even today, if Interfisc did not have a practical solution at hand for many problems!). Over the years, the service package was considerably expanded to make things as easy as possible for the foreign employers.

In 1996, Interfisc continued its business completely on its own, to grow to a team of over 40 employees, at home and abroad, in a relatively short period.

The period between 1962 and 2007 has been described in colourful detail in the contribution of the founder himself, which can be found below.

After the death of Robert Mahieu on 21 March 2013, Interfisc was continued by his wife Willy Mahieu-Scholte (9 March 1946 – 20 July 2016). Thanks to her, Interfisc could continue to exist as a family business, even after the death of its founder. In addition, she ensured that Interfisc’s original legacy was not lost and was even embedded in the current business of Interfisc, a feat of which we all are proud.

Today, Interfisc is still in the hands of the Mahieu family, who have entrusted its management in 2016 to André Hamulyák, who has been working at Interfisc since 1994. Due to his impending retirement, he handed over the baton to Tamara Mahieu on July 1st, 2023, who has also been working at Interfisc for more than 20 years. We have our headquarter in the Netherlands and branch offices in Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Based on our vision, we are always looking for opportunities to realise further expansion. In our various locations, we handle the payroll accounting of employees who work in the Netherlands and in the aforementioned neighbouring countries, as well as in France. Moreover, Interfisc has developed into a cross-border payroll expert which does not only calculate and pay the deductions in various countries, but also actually integrates them into the payslip!

Why we do this?

We do this to make sure that when doing business internationally, you are not impeded by any lack of familiarity with complex local and international rules. Though employers are expected to fully know and apply the laws and regulations with regard to staff matters, this is not always possible, especially in the event of cross-border employment of staff. In that case, you should be able to rely on a strong partner who has all knowledge available in-house. At Interfisc, we care for your employees abroad, so you will be able to fully focus on you core business.

Identifying and solving bottlenecks in cross-border employment

Thanks to its origin, Interfisc has gained extensive experience in identifying bottlenecks in cross-border employment. Finding practical solutions for these bottlenecks has become a second nature.

Two examples serve as illustrations.

As early as in 1996, we managed to have the double payment of contributions in the framework of the social-sectoral schemes in the Netherlands reversed. These contributions were suddenly declared applicable by the Netherlands to the Belgian workers of our Belgian clients, who worked on major building sites in the Netherlands. This reversal prevented the cost calculations for the relevant projects in the Netherlands from suddenly being a lot higher.

Interfisc also ensured that the ‘Deutsche Rentenversicherung’ adopted Interfisc’s position after years of procedures. As a result, businesses without a factual office branch in Germany have been exempt from payment of the so-called ‘Insolvenzgeldumlage’ (Insolvency benefits). The German employees, or employees working in Germany under certain conditions, retain their claim to ‘Insolvenzgeld’, though. This has resulted in substantial savings in wage costs and administrative burdens for enterprises operating in Germany.

“Quite soon, it became clear that only a payslip was not enough, there was a lot more to it”

Nassaulaan 19, The Hague, the Netherlands

Together, solution-oriented and caring

For many decades, we have taken such problems as starting points for developing practical solutions. You won’t hear us say “no” very soon, we like to get our teeth into difficult issues. To celebrate our 45th anniversary, we described various examples of such bottlenecks. They were bunded in a colourful publication “Welcome@Interfisc 1972 – 2017; from social secretariat to expert in cross-border employment”. Want to read more? Request your copy of this book here (in Dutch).

Interfisc is unique because of the combination of services and the helicopter view through which we connect our services. Together, solution-oriented and caring are core values that set us apart. We want to provide our clients with the best solution. This is only possible if we as experts act together.

Nowadays we have extensive knowledge and expertise, and many of our people have been involved with Interfisc for a very long time. This ensures recognition and trust with many of our customers.

Facilitating working abroad

We share our knowledge and expertise, among other things, by participating in the Round Table meetings of the EURES network, in both a Dutch-Belgian and a Dutch-German context. In addition, as a payroll provider for foreign employers with personnel in the Netherlands, we are the first to fall under the ‘horizontal supervision’ of the Foreign Tax Office. This position enables us to bring up any bottlenecks in the payroll records and discuss them with these Tax Authorities quickly.

This way, we look after the interests of employers with employees who work across borders. When doing so, our goal is always to facilitate cross-border employment by providing parties with correct advice. We assist them in making choices with regard to cross-border social security, tax position, labour law, health and well-being, and compensation & benefits. As a result, the right contributions and taxes are paid in the right country – a ‘win-win-win situation’ for the employee, the employer, and the respective governments.

Together, solution-orientated and caring

Need to know more?

Questions about what needs to be done?
Our customer support team is at your service, you can reach us by phone or via the contact form.

Not found what you were looking for?

In the world of international employment, every situation is unique.
If our website does not provide the answers, please do not hesitate to contact us, together we can work out the best solution (to your needs).

Contact form

Subscribe to our newsletter!

Stay up to date on employer obligations in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy.