Flight tax comes into effect
The “aircraft embarkation tax”, better known as the flight tax, will apply from 1 April. For every passenger who departs from Belgian soil with an “aircraft” (passenger plane, private plane, helicopter …), the airline will have to pay a tax.
The tax is EUR 10 per passenger (from 2 years) for short-haul flights. These are flights to destinations that, as the crow flies, are no more than 500 kilometers away (measured from Brussels Airport). For medium-haul flights, the tax will be 2 euros per passenger, for long-haul flights 4 euros.
The tax will not apply to, for example, transfer passengers, on derivative flights or military flights, or on flights that arrive at the same airport as they departed.
Minimum wage rises to more than 1,800 euros gross
The minimum wage is 1,806.16 euros gross per month from April. This is the result of the social agreement that trade unions and employers within the Group of 10 knocked on in June last year.
One of the agreements in that agreement was the increase in the so-called guaranteed average minimum monthly income (GGMMI) in various phases. The first step is for April.
It was initially announced that the minimum wage would rise to 1,702 euros per month. But since then it has already been indexed several times, so that in practice it is increased to 1,806.16 euros. In April 2024 and 2026, an additional 35 euros gross will be added each time. And a fourth increase in the minimum wage is possible in April 2028.
Reduced VAT rate for solar panels, heat pumps and solar boilers
From April, a VAT rate of 6 percent will always apply to the purchase and installation of solar panels, heat pumps and solar boilers, also for new and young homes. This has been confirmed by Minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V).
The reduced VAT rate already exists for homes older than 10 years, but it will be extended to homes younger than 10 years until the end of December 2023, including new-build homes and homes rebuilt after demolition.
Also VAT on gas to 6 percent
From 1 April, a reduced VAT rate of 6 instead of 21 percent will temporarily apply to gas. The discount may not be immediately visible on the advance invoices, but will be settled later.
The federal government had already introduced a VAT reduction on electricity from 1 March. The reduction applies to both gas and electricity at least until September 30. The government took the measure because energy prices have risen sharply.
The VAT reduction on electricity will only be visible on energy bills in April. The suppliers needed time to implement the measure. The discount for consumption in March will then be settled in the final invoice, according to the insurance sector federation Febeg.
For gas, it will depend from supplier to supplier when the discount is settled in the advance invoices, says Febeg. Presumably most suppliers will still charge 21 percent in April, but from May consumption it should be 6 percent everywhere.
New social rates will also be applied from April 1, valid until the end of June. The rates are rising, but the lower VAT means that the final price including VAT is lower than in the previous quarter. For electricity, the new single rate is 22.907 euro cents per kWh, instead of 24.236 euro cents per kWh. For natural gas, the new social rate is 2.846 euro cents per kWh. Last quarter it was 2.961 euro cents.
Single ride with De Lijn will be a quarter more expensive
The cheapest ticket for a single ride with De Lijn will be 25 percent more expensive from 1 April. The m-ticket goes from 2 to 2.5 euros.
The Flemish public transport company explains that the fare is equalized across the different ticket types. The m-ticket in the De Lijn app therefore receives the same price as the SMS ticket and the traditional ticket on a card. The latter two already cost 2.5 euros, although an operator cost of 0.15 euros will be added to the SMS tickets.
For the rest, the prices of the tickets change only slightly. For example, the ten-ride tickets – in the app and on a card – will cost 17 euros instead of 16 euros from 1 April, and the prices for some Omnipas subscriptions for 25 to 64 year olds will go up slightly. The rates of the social subscriptions and the subscriptions for young people and seniors remain unchanged.
Civil servants see wages rise by 2 percent for the second time this year
Public sector wages will increase by 2 percent in April. This is the result of the exceedance of the central index in February.
The month after such an exceedance, benefits and pensions are indexed by 2 percent, in order to adjust them to the increased lifespan. Civil servants’ wages follow a month later.
This is the second time this year that civil servants’ wages have been indexed. This also happened in February, after the central index was exceeded in December.
According to the Planning Bureau, even a third exceedance of the pivotal index is possible this year. In the latest forecast, the institution predicted that in July. The fact that the central index is exceeded so often has to do with the sky-high inflation. It rose to 8.04 percent in February, the highest level since March 1983. Inflation is being driven by high energy prices.
BNP Paribas Fortis introduces zero interest for savings above 250,000 euros
From 1 April, BNP Paribas Fortis will limit the maximum amount allowed on a regulated savings account to EUR 250,000. Above that amount, no more interest will be paid.
In concrete terms, amounts above 250,000 euros in a savings account will be made available on a deposit account, which has an interest rate of 0 percent. BNP Paribas Fortis will also not pay a fidelity premium for the amount above 250,000 euros that is transferred to another account. By way of compensation, a financial compensation will be paid. A 30% withholding tax must be paid on this.
BNP Paribas Fortis emphasizes that the measure has no impact for more than 99 percent of customers. The subsidiary brands Fintro and Hello Bank! implement the measure.
BNP Paribas Fortis is the market leader for savings accounts in our country. The bank is not the first to introduce a zero interest rate. ING, for example, already did this earlier, as did several smaller wealth banks. ING even has a negative interest rate for amounts over 500,000 euros.
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