Pieter Timmermans, managing director of the Federation of Belgian Enterprises (FEB), was the guest of Bel RTL matin. At the microphone of Antonio Solimando, he criticizes the idea of the Minister of Pensions to tax companies that do not employ enough workers over 60 years old.
In general, the boss of bosses has “buttons” when it comes to tax. He also says that he does not understand this idea: “We need a real pension reform, that means reducing the differences between the different systems, we need to have a debate on how to reduce the cost of aging, that we can promote real work, that these are real reforms”.
He pursues : “I have the impression that as soon as a problem arises, it’s taxing companies. A fine here, a tax there. It’s a very easy solution, which will not bring in anything”. He considers that if there are not enough people over 60 at work, “It is first of all the federal state and the regions that should be taxed because there are fewer older workers at work in the state than in the private sector”. “It’s a false good idea”he said.
So how do companies keep this older staff?
“You have to look at the end of your career as a whole, you have to look at the system that pushes people towards schemes with additional unemployment (that is to say, laid-off workers who receive a small surplus of salary paid by the company). If we want to look at how to prolong the career, we have to take it all: the end of the career and the pension together, not just a small measure that will sanction companies in case. It will not bring in anything, it will not will have no consequences on the ground, so why would you want to do it”he pleads again.