New Year brings changes in cost of electricity and postage

As widely reported, the cost of electricity will rise substantially. The average household, which paid €676 in 2015 will now face a bill of €911 on the same consumption. In March, the “Turtel tax” will be introduced in Flanders, bringing the average household bill in the region to €1,005.

The average gas bill, on the other hand, will go down by about €100 to an average €1,193. The ordinary postage stamp for mail within Belgium costs 2 cents more, to 79 cents for individual stamps, or 74 cents for batches of 10. International post within the EU goes up 3 cents to €1.13, and other international post to €1.35 when bought in blocks of five.

New owners of electric and hydrogen-powered cars in Flanders no longer pay the one-off registration tax or the annual road tax. Drivers of transitional vehicles such as liquid natural gas and plug-in hybrids are also free of tax, but only until 2020. Petrol and diesel cars will pay more according to their emissions level.

A new sliding scale for water charges has been introduced: Households using little drinking water will be charged at a lower tariff than high users, with special conditions for the handicapped and those on benefits. Water bills for second residences go up.

Small companies turning over less than €25,000 no longer have to submit a quarterly VAT declaration. About 28,000 companies are affected.

A plan that allowed dentists to charge a supplement for patients who had not been seen in the previous year has been postponed to 1 February, after the legislation was delayed. The plan aims to encourage regular preventive visits to the dentist.

Smoke detectors are compulsory in all rentals more than 70 years old, with the responsibility on landlords to fit and maintain them. More recent buildings are already covered.

Finally, the new smart cash register is now compulsory for all restaurant (and bars that serve food) with sales of €25,000 a year or more. Smaller businesses have until 2017 to comply.

Photo: Ingimage