Tobin tax: debt must not go up

Minister of Finance Johan Van Overtveldt defends the introduction of a Tobin tax on the European level. “Just like Premier Michel, I am also a proponent of such a tax on financial transactions”, he clarifies. “The only condition set by this government is that a Tobin tax must not have a negative impact on the cost of our national debt and especially the availability of financial resources to finance that national debt.”

Belgium currently has a debt ratio of 106 percent of its 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 . The only way to prevent the cost of that debt from getting out of hand is by keeping sufficient resources available to finance that debt. “That is also how it has been determined in the coalition agreement,” the minister emphasises. “The four parties have signed that coalition agreement and my task consists of implementing that agreement in both spirit and letter.”