Bart De Wever (N-VA) is fully committed to tax reduction: “Hard-working Flemish is the most plumed chicken of all”

“Done with Vivaldi, done with squeezing and laughing at the hardworking Flemish, done with governing without a Flemish majority.” With a fiery speech, Bart De Wever fired up his troops, 42 days from the elections, in the Capitole in Ghent. The N-VA has also finalized its election manifesto.

Source: BELGA

Today at 12:03

De Wever emphatically steers his troops away from the theme of migration, which is the focus of the biggest competitor on the right, Vlaams Belang. Flemish themes are also snowed under. It should be about the country’s budgetary situation and a reduction in taxes. The election conference therefore started with a video report in which people complain about the high costs, supported by an analysis by Herman Matthijs, professor of Economics at Ghent University. De Wever only had to head it in moments later. “No one taxes higher than the working people in this country. No one in the world! The hard-working Flemish is head and shoulders the most plumed chicken of all.”

The N-VA is reinventing itself as the party against taxes. “So where does all that money actually go? Well, the Vivaldi policy has organized a huge transfer from working people to non-working people, not coincidentally the largest voter group of the Parti Socialiste.” De Wever quoted a Flemish classic: “Juul Kabas has never sounded louder: they are fools who work. Nowhere in the entire developed world is the difference between working and not working financially smaller than here.”

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De Wever also made it clear that a vote for Vlaams Belang is a hidden vote for a continuation of Vivaldi, since that party does not play a federal role. “There are actually only three choices. Choose a Vivaldi party and you get the main road to Vivaldi 2. Choose an extreme party and you get the detour to Vivaldi 2. Choose the N-VA and you get a much-needed change.”

He once again reiterated his bid for the premiership. “If the N-VA receives a strong mandate from the Flemish voter, the N-VA will participate in governance. Then I will be a candidate to lead the next federal government myself.”

PVDA

• Two percent on the one percent: we are introducing a millionaire tax of two percent on net assets above five million euros (and three percent on assets above ten million euros). With this we tax the top one percent of the richest
• To collect the tax, we expand Tax-on-web with a Fortune-on-web. Multimillionaires can supplement the information about their assets there
• We reduce taxes on low and middle incomes through a two-pronged personal income tax reform: we globalize income and make taxes more progressive
• We are introducing a tax on the profiteering profits of banks, energy and food giants
• We are reducing VAT on basic products to 0 percent

GREEN

• A thorough tax reform. This reduces taxes on labor and simplifies taxation. If taxes are structured smartly, we will have to pay less
• Reduce labor costs so that everyone has more net income, especially low and medium wages
• Eliminate the tax distinction between income from labor and income from capital. A euro is a euro, we tax it in the same way
• Expand existing securities tax to a progressive millionaires’ tax on total net assets. Assets under 2.5 million are untaxed
• As a frontrunner, introduce an ambitious financial transaction tax. The levy discourages speculative trading and contributes to financial stability

VLAAMS BELANG

• The reduction of the tax bracket from 40% to 30%
• In a second phase: the reduction of the tax bracket from 45% to 40%
• In a third phase: the increase of the lower limit of the highest tax bracket to 61,000 euros per year
• A permanent reduction in VAT on basic needs to 6% (fresh food, water, gas, electricity)
• A permanent VAT reduction on the sale of all non-alcoholic drinks in the catering industry

OPEN VLD

• Inspection services must shift focus from checking formalities at bona fide companies to targeted checks on rogue companies
• Convert economic subsidies as much as possible into a Flemish reduction on corporate tax
• Delete 45% personal tax bracket
• Implementation of European big tech tax
• Reduction of inheritance tax and even elimination if it concerns between partners

CD&V

• Labor costs must be reduced with a large-scale tax reform
• The tax-free amount must be increased to the level of the living wage for a single person, and the special social security contribution must be abolished
• Reducing the tax rates of 25, 40, 45 and 50% by 5 percentage points
• Capital income must be taxed in a balanced manner
• The strongest shoulders must bear the heaviest burdens: a digital tax must make internet companies and international corporations contribute

FORWARD

• There must be an income and asset register. To allow everyone to contribute fairly and to automatically grant social benefits
• There is a need for a major tax reform, with a tax shift from taxes on labor to taxes on capital and a focus on low and middle incomes. The higher net salary should eventually make other forms of remuneration disappear, such as a salary car or stock options
• Rental income must be taxed on the basis of actual rental income
• Banks must provide decent savings interest rates. The minimum savings interest rate must be increased, if necessary by law. And the difference between the basic interest rate and the fidelity premium must be eliminated
• There will be a structural excess profit tax, a European financial transaction tax to discourage speculation, the international minimum tax must be increased from 15 to 25%, and the securities tax on assets exceeding 1 million euros will be doubled.

N-VA

• A major tax reform has been discussed for years. It’s time to implement them. The end result is a significantly lower tax burden. Everyone who works or earns a little more should have a net gain
• Pending this reform, which must take place gradually, the next government’s first decision will be to immediately implement a substantial tax reduction by making the end-of-year bonus tax-free.
• We reduce corporate tax for all small and medium-sized enterprises by expanding the lowest bracket from 100,000 euros to 200,000 euros
• We will further reduce the rates in a direct line for small inheritances and provide a full exemption for the surviving spouse or legal cohabiting partner, and for minor children living at home