Tax burden to decrease as of 2015

If the budget plans that the Michel government has presented to the European Commission show one thing, it is that the N-VA is delivering on its election promises. They clearly reveal that the tax burden as well as government spending will decrease. At the same time the budget deficit will also fall, as will the general level of debt.

“The overall tax burden has long exceeded the pain threshold and must decrease,” we wrote in our manifesto for the 25 May elections. And the burden will indeed decrease: next year by around EUR 1.6 billion, from 48 to 47.6 percent of the gross domestic product ( GDP The gross domestic product (GDP) is the total monetary value of all goods and services produced within a country, both by companies and the government. This term is usually used as a benchmark for a country’s prosperity. This is why the N-VA closely follows the evolution of the Belgian GDP. GDP ). This was revealed in the draft budget that the Michel government submitted to the EU.

“Under Di Rupo, government spending rose to 54 percent of GDP, a historical record,” we noted in the same election manifesto. Next year, the Michel government wants to reduce government spending, or total government expenditure in proportion to GDP, by around EUR 4.4 billion, from 54.1 to 53 percent.

Finally this government also wants to reduce the budget deficit, from 2.9 percent of GDP in 2013 to 2.1 percent or around EUR 8.4 billion in 2015. The level of debt must also fall by half a percent, from 105.6 to 105.1 percent.