Florence Lepoivre spoke for the first time as boss of the Brussels FGTB.
This Wednesday May 1st is synonymous with Labor Day for all Belgians. For the FGTB, it is above all a change of reign this year. A socialist replaces another socialist at the head of the Brussels FGTB since Florence Lepoivre replaces the former boss Estelle Ceulemans. Obviously, this date was not chosen at random. “It’s mostly symbolic”she assumes.
She will therefore take her responsibilities this Wednesday. “I have to give a speech to the Brussels PS federation where I was invited. Furthermore, I participate in debates organized by the FGTB Brussels. There are no more speeches for May 1st.”
Among the major projects carried out by the FGTB, it is a tax on large fortunes and more particularly on those of real estate. “With our deficit, our debt in Belgium and the future European laws in this area, we will have to find money, and we consider that this money should not come out of the pockets of workers but of those of the most well-off.”
Florence Lepoivre insists on the progressive side of this measure. “It would be 1% from 1 to 10 million, 2% between 10 and 100 million, 3% between 100 million and a billion, and 4% beyond. This would bring in around 10 billion per year. This would allow us to have real revenues and be able to spend on more social and economic policies.”
The goal is therefore to balance the accounts and refinance social security in Belgium.
Another important objective: the FGTB wants a return of the highest brackets on employee taxation. “It concerns very high salaries since they have a tax which is no longer progressive at all. From a certain point, you pay as much as someone else who has much less than you. The idea would be to create higher brackets and increase the tax-exempt portions. We must therefore reduce the taxes of others with a real tax reform. We would increase low and middle wages by taking this money from the pockets of the richest.”
