The Brussels parliament on Friday gave the green light to the draft budgets of the Capital Region and the Common Community Commission for 2021, with a majority against opposition.During the debate started on Thursday, the opposition expressed concern about the evolution of debt and precariousness. For the MR, Alexia Bertrand was worried about the “record deficit” of 895.3 million euros which is looming, a “catastrophic” situation which, according to her, cannot be explained by the Covid-19 crisis alone, but by the continuity of poor management of the Region’s accounts and of “budgetary laxity”. His point of view was shared by Cieltje Vanachter (N-VA). The Liberal leader considers that this leaves less than less budgetary room for carrying out new policies. Françoise De Smedt (PTB) considered that the policies of the Brussels government worsened the social difficulties of a population already hard hit by the crisis. According to her, there are social measures that cost nothing, such as rent control or the ban on water cuts. It is also possible to invest massively in social housing so that it pays off in the long term. For the cdH, Céline Fremault estimated that the Brussels Region had minimized the situation: a deficit of 2 billion for the 2020 and 2021 budgets, unlike the 1.5 billion initially announced. Debt flies away. On the economic front, she deplored the fact that the Vervoort government had so far failed to take into account the impact of Brexit. In terms of employment, the budget augurs at most that of support and not of a revival, she added. On Friday, the Minister of Finance Sven Gatz (Open Vld) wanted to be more reassuring. Admittedly, the current situation is in deficit, but it is the fact of all the entities in Belgium and the situation remains under control, he explained in substance, repeating that the Brussels government was aiming for a return to balance. by 2024 at a cost of savings of 200 million on an annual basis. Mr. Gatz also reported a bonus of 42 million euros compared to what was planned in terms of tax revenue for the Region for the year which ended in the areas of registration fees ( 101%), mortgage tax (102%) and inheritance tax (109%). (Belga)
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