02 november 2020
19:34
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The government summit has reached an agreement on a new securities tax, which should yield 420 million euros. An anti-abuse provision allows the tax authorities to act if a securities account is split in order to avoid the tax.
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Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) and his Deputy Prime Ministers have reached an agreement in the core cabinet on a new securities tax, which Minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) had put on the table. De Croo wanted to take the plunge quickly, because such a profit tax is annoying for the liberals, especially after they had fired it when the PS and the N-VA had a deal on it.
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The longer the discussion dragged on, the more criticism threatened to come from the business world. The big difference with the previous version of the securities tax is that companies now also have to pay the tax if they hold a securities account of more than 1 million euros. Entrepreneurs who keep their money in the company and invest that money in shares, get the feeling that the government is nibbling on their nest egg again, as was the case with the liquidation bonus under the Di Rupo government.
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After a final consultation between the cabinets, it was decided on Monday to give the green light for this new version of the securities tax. The socialists had insisted that the loopholes in Van Peteghem’s proposal should still be closed, so that the tax could not be avoided by spreading a portfolio of shares over different securities accounts, each of which remains below 1 million euros. Ultimately, they agreed to the anti-abuse provision proposed by Van Peteghem. As a result, the tax authorities can act if a securities account is split in order to avoid the tax.
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The French-speaking liberals were also still difficult. They pointed out that the expected proceeds of 420 million euros would jeopardize the balance of one third income, one third savings, and one third miscellaneous income, as established in the coalition agreement. If the securities tax is continued, other taxes will have to be removed from the program law that has just been submitted, the MR said.
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Another possibility was that the proceeds from the securities tax would go towards a reduction in the burden on labor, for example on overtime. But the French-speaking liberals had little to gain from the fire. The coalition agreement states that the securities tax or ‘solidarity contribution’, as it is already called, must go to healthcare. That was the liberals’ way of getting the tax sold.
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Aid measures
In addition to the agreement on the securities tax, De Croo and his deputy prime ministers also discussed an update of the economic support measures that should allow companies to get through the second corona wave without too much damage.
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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Employment Pierre-Yves Dermagne (PS) believes that temporary unemployment can once again be granted unconditionally to employees who are out of work, such as during the first wave. Employers can give a supplement on top of the temporary unemployment benefit.
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A postponement of payment of social security contributions and withholding tax was also on the table. This deferment of payment was supposed to lead companies through the first wave, but in principle the social security contributions and the withholding tax had to be paid by December 15th. This is no longer a realistic scenario due to the new wave.
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