Newsletter

Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR) does not want to touch the favorable regime to…

Georges-Louis Bouchez is also president of amateur club Francs Borains.

Photo: Royal Francs Borains

MR chairman Georges-Louis Bouchez does not want to hear about a curtailment of the favorable tax regime for top football. He said this in an interview with De Tijd. Minister of Social Affairs Frank Vandenbroucke and Minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem are currently finalizing a reform of the system, the newspaper reports.

The federal coalition agreement states that this legislature will reform the fiscal and parafiscal benefits for professional athletes and clubs. There has been indignation about the tax cuts and the favorable social security ceiling for years, especially in top football. In this way, 200 million euros annually flows to the clubs and their players, with the largest football clubs receiving the largest discounts.

Minister of Social Affairs Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) and Minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) are currently finalizing their plans to put an end to these practices. The file would be tabled at the end of this month, together with the budget discussions, De Tijd knows.

But Georges-Louis Bouchez, chairman of coalition partner MR, does not want to hear about a curtailment of the system, he already tells the newspaper. “Only strong clubs could survive through outgoing transfers, many others are fighting for their survival,” said Bouchez. “If the government now, just after corona, starts to sit on their money again, we will kill Belgian football.”

The PS is also reportedly not eager for a reform of the system. Chairman Paul Magnette is also mayor of Charleroi, which has a first-class football club with Sporting Charleroi. Bouchez is president of amateur football club Francs Borains.

Groen and Vooruit are not impressed by Bouchez’s statements. “There is no reason why we should allow the gross injustice to exist that a nurse pays more social security contributions than a professional football player who earns twenty times more. That is why we have agreed in the coalition agreement to tackle this”, says MP Joris Vandenbroucke (Vooruit). “The more you earn as a football player, the greater the tax benefit. That has to change and we will change that. Regardless of what Bouchez has to say about this,” adds Member of Parliament Dieter Van Besien (Groen).

.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending