The coalition government has presented concrete measures resulting from an agreement concluded at the end of July (c.f. article No. 9217) over tax reforms that intend to shift some of the tax burden away from employees on to other sources. For Prime Minister Charles Michel, the tax reform should absorb, over the long term, Belgium’s ‘employee handicap’. Concrete measures presented and discussed when parliament reassembled after the summer break focus particularly on reducing employers’ charges from 33% to 25% as well as a permanent exemption from charges for certain employers taking on their first employee.
Lower contribution levels and improved purchasing power. The government will rely on four major ways to boost purchasing power.
- The first raises minimum unemployment benefits and the lowest pensions benefits by 2% (this will cost €1.3 billion by 2018).
- The second lowers employers’ social contributions from 33% to 25% so that from 2018 the total amount of employers’ charges does not exceed 25%. An extra measure was added that affects monthly salaries up to €1,500 gross where the current effecti
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