Flanders applies for tax breaks for hard-hit Genk and Turnhout
The Flemish region has nominated Limburg cities Genk and Turnhout as “support zones”, which would be eligible for special tax conditions under an agreement with the federal government
Back on their feet
A competition and employment agreement reached last autumn between the regions and the federal government allows each region to nominate four support zones – areas hard-hit by redundancies that need the support of tax breaks to help get them back on their feet.
Businesses that take on new workers are exempted for two years from paying a portion of the income tax on workers’ salaries – the equivalent, said Peeters, of a 5.1% reduction on the cost of creating jobs. The government is nominating Genk, which is suffering the effects of the closure of the Ford factory (pictured), with the loss of more than 6,000 jobs, and Turnhout, which has seen the loss of about 500 jobs at Philips and Heinz.
The support system lasts for a maximum of six years and applies to a 40-kilometre radius around the businesses affected. In this case, that would cover the whole of Limburg, a part of Antwerp province and an area in the east of Flemish Brabant.
About the author
