Belgium pushes through tax shift totaling $7.7 billion
Jul 23, 2015, 2:36 AM
BRUSSELS (AP) — The center-right government of Prime Minister Charles Michel has pushed through a tax shift to lighten the cost of labor for businesses and offset it with taxes on energy, alcohol and tobacco.
After all-night negotiations that stretched into Thursday, the Michel government announced it would balance the budget by 2018. The deficit stood at 3.2 percent last year.
To offset the 7 billion euros ($7.7 billion) decrease in labor costs for businesses, the government will increase taxation on products which are a burden on health or the environment. At the same time, the government plans to make it more costly to go on early retirement and levy a tax on short-term share sales.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.