Last year, 1,400 jobs were lost throughout Flanders, of which 345 in our province. There were again many job losses, especially in the textile sector. Flemish MP Axel Ronse from Kortrijk urged the Flemish parliament this afternoon to quickly grant the status of a disrupted zone, which also includes Antwerp, De Kempen and Limburg. Axel Ronse, Flemish Member of Parliament (N-VA): “This means that if you employ people there you will receive a 25% discount on withholding tax for two years. This equates to approximately a wage cost reduction of 5 to 6 percent. I have heard that Minister Brouns is open to registering West Flanders as a disrupted zone. My question to the minister is: when can West Flemish companies enjoy the conditions in that disrupted zone?”
Benjamin Dalle, acting minister of labor and economy: “Vlajo is currently busy with the technical preparation of this file. The Flemish government then wishes that the disrupted zones can come into effect by the end of October 2024 at the latest. In this way we can indeed provide extra support to that affected region during that difficult period.”