Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) is currently working on a tax reform, which should lead to the end of the legislature. For the president of the MR, it is essential to lower the taxes which weigh on the middle classes. He therefore proposes to reduce personal income tax, by raising the tax-exempt portion to 11,816 euros, and to review the tax brackets to move less quickly to the upper brackets.
Georges-Louis Bouchez also proposes to establish an absolute tax shield at 50% of income, additional municipal income included. The president of the MR also wants to double the maximum deductible amount for childcare expenses.
Another proposal: to lower the VAT rate on basic necessities from 6 to 5%. Mr. Bouchez also wants to apply this rate to digital, which is not currently authorized by the European directive. The liberal, however, sees “openings in this area at European level”. Gas and electricity would not benefit from this more advantageous rate “for obvious budgetary reasons”.
Finally, the MR wants to strengthen the status of independent starter, which allows you to benefit from a halving of social security contributions for one year, provided you do not exceed a certain income. Georges-Louis Bouchez proposes to extend the duration of this measure, for example to three years, and to reduce the amount of minimum contributions.
All of these measures would cost 8 billion euros, figures the president of MR. According to him, however, they will boost the employment rate, which will allow the State to save on allowances and increase revenue from personal income tax and social security contributions.