2023-06-16 19:54:00
There is in Belgium, particularly in Flanders, an obsession for full time”, says economist Philippe Defeyt, president of the Institute for Sustainable Development (IDD). which, for Free, endeavored to carry out some projections on the note of the Minister for Finance Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V), which was sent to the members of the kern with a view to the conclave “Fiscal reform” started this Friday. According to the calculations of Philippe Defeyt, more than 400,000 employees will not benefit from the tax reform under discussion within Vivaldi since this Friday. In question therefore, the fact that the Vivaldi ignores part-time, in particular. Explanations.
In the note sent by the Minister, which is a framed version of his reform project unveiled in March, it is explained that the aim of the reform is to “make work more attractive and tax income below the integration income as little as possible”. Laudable objective, which Vivaldi intends to achieve by raising above all the tax-exempt portion. In his March reform bill, the Minister intended to raise the amount not subject to tax from 10,160 to 13,500 euros (for the 2024 tax year). “What we often forget to sayexplains Philippe Defeyt, it is that a large number of employees, with modest incomes and/or who do not work full time (not always by choice, as in the service sector), quite simply do not pay tax. In other words, the increase in the tax exempt amount does not matter to them since they will not benefit from it”.
25% part-time
In fact, to benefit from the tax-exempt portion, you must… be liable for tax. “However, according to my rather cautious estimates, some 409,000 salaried workers will not benefit from this tax reform – this reduction in charges – centered on the tax-exempt portion”. To reach this estimate, the economist relied on December 2021 data from the Crossroads Bank for Social Security – the latest available. These data give the daily wage for full time and working time. “By applying a reasonable indexation of 11% to these amounts, and by combining daily salary and working time, I only retain monthly salaries below 1,750 euros gross per month (as a reminder, the minimum wage is currently 1,954.99 euros, Editor’s note). And there, in a rather striking way, some 409,000 salaried workers are still in the box of taxpayers who do not pay tax and who are therefore not concerned by the expected increase in the tax-exempt quota. And once more, I did not take into account all the employees earning more but who have children and/or other dependents, nor the increase in the total number of employees, otherwise the figure would be even higher “, continues the economist. This is obviously a huge number, but it can be explained. “In Belgium, there are around 25% part-timers. Which obviously affects the income. We know that Vivaldi’s objective is to raise the employment rate to 80%, but if we do not make an effort to also support part-time employees, in particular by offering adapted services (nurseries, public transport , etc.), it is illusory to think that we will get there. We need a real change of mentality, especially in Flandersbelieves Philippe Defeyt, and stop believing that full time is the norm for everyone and the only concern of tax reform. All the documents concerning the tax reform never mention part-timers. It’s amazing”, continues the economist. According to him, it is therefore abnormal that the current discussions do not take this “particularity” into account. Said discussions on this tax reform ended this Friday around 7:00 p.m. following a round of discussion on the note from the Minister of Finance. They will resume this Saturday morning.
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