2023-06-08 15:40:00
The federal government will meet in conclave in a week to try to move forward on a tax reform project. Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) submitted a draft in March that partly satisfies the Liberals. In their eyes, it is indeed a “tax cut” (tax cut) but which does not go far enough and which also contains certain measures such as VAT increases which they do not want.
Any tax reform must, for the MR, increase the net salary of workers with the objective of a differential of at least 500 euros between replacement income and that of workers, an objective shared by the Open Vld. The liberals want to increase the tax-exempt portion and the income bracket subject to a 45% tax which, according to them, affects far too many taxpayers compared to neighboring countries. Other measures are put forward such as the increase in the deductibility of childcare costs, an employment bonus for the self-employed, the extension of flexi-jobs to agriculture, an increase of 1,500 euros net for people who practice a profession in short supply, etc.
In drawing up its budget in October, the government entrusted the Minister of Labor with the task of continuing to “work to raise the employment rate”. In addition to the incentive for trades in shortage, the MR recommends an exclusion from unemployment following two refusals of a suitable job, an increased degression of unemployment benefits or even community work following two years.
Federal tax reform can cost Flanders up to 700 million, says N-VA
“Tax reform is inseparable from labor market reform. It’s not a game. If we don’t reform the labor market, what we put in your right pocket will be taken from your left pocket or we will take it from your boss who will not be able to hire an additional worker, increase wages or have to increase his prices. On arrival, it will always be the middle class who will pay, “said party president Georges-Louis Bouchez surrounded by Deputy Prime Minister David Clarinval and the Walloon Minister for the Economy, Willy Borsus.
The MR designs its tax reform in several phases, the first of which would begin on January 1, 2024 and be followed by two more in 2026 and 2028. It has not set a deadline for a deal while July 21 and the summer break are approaching. “If the tax reform and the reform of the labor market do not succeed in a weekend but in one or two months, it is not a problem. The MR ministers remain mobilized until the end”, assured M Stopper.
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