2023-10-09 17:17:44
The De Croo government agrees on a total budgetary effort of 1.7 billion euros for the 2024 budget, including 500 million to cover new needs.
It was, once once more, as it has become accustomed to, following a marathon negotiation that the De Croo government ended up reaching an agreement on the 2024 budget. The budgetary conclave, which stretched over two weekends ends, ended with a discussion lasting more than 30 hours, which began on Sunday morning.
The last important point that stuck was that of flexi-jobs, dear to the liberals, who strongly wanted to expand the system. The PS and Ecolo were slowing down. In the end, the regime will be expanded to 12 new sectors, such as childcare, education, food, the automotive sector, sport and culture, agriculture, the events sector and real estate. In exchange, presumably, the socialists get a minimum wage increase from April 1, thanks to a reduction in labor charges.
The budgetary effort amounts, in total, to 1.7 billion: 1.2 billion to improve the budget balance, and 500 million to cover additional needs. Among them, in addition to the increase in the minimum wage: increased resources to resolve the crisis in the reception of asylum seekers, additional budgets for the fight once morest drugs, but also the structural reduction of VAT on demolition and reconstruction, limited however to individual houses with a maximum surface area of 200 square meters.
A tax of 150 million on banks
On the revenue side, a large part of the effort will come from the banking sector. Vooruit had proposed, a few weeks ago, a tax on excess profits of 588 million euros. The proposal was not accepted. The sector will still provide additional contribution of 150 million euros to the 2024 budgeta tax which will be coupled with more stimulation of competition, assures the government.
The increase in tobacco excise and similar products, such as electronic cigarettes, should bring in an additional 50 million.
The Cayman tax should also contribute its (small) share, with 13 million new revenues.
There is no longer any question of increasing the tax on securities accounts or the tax on single packaging.
On the side of spending cutsthe only notable measure to report is undoubtedly theincrease in the employer activation contribution, for 40 million. This dissuasive measure was put in place to discourage employers from exempting their workers from benefits, with maintenance of all or part of the salary, thus circumventing the stricter conditions of the unemployment system with company supplement.
The government is mainly counting on savings thanks to underutilization of certain budgets, particularly in healthwhich should reduce expenses by 150 million.
On the side of the various, Belfius should bring a large part of the effort, with an increasing dividend, to the tune of 220 million euros.
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