Two centrist parties involved in the Federal Government formation talks – Les Engagés and CD&V – have aligned with the Dutch-speaking socialists Vooruit on the tax contribution of the wealthiest.
Negotiators from N-VA, MR, Les Engagés, Vooruit, and CD&V met on Monday to discuss tax reforms as part of forming a Federal Government. The future 'Arizona' coalition aims to implement tax reform, which for months was the main bone of contention in discussions.
Vooruit has been pushing for larger contributions from the wealthiest since the start of negotiations. Leader of Les Engagés, Maxime Prévot, has now confirmed that his party and CD&V support this stance. "We must ensure the wealthiest contribute too," he told BX1 on Tuesday.
He emphasised the need for public acceptance of the reforms. He added that the reform should include measures to ensure a fair and just distribution of efforts.
Talks are continuing, and Prévot assured that the negotiators are gradually moving towards an agreement.
Brussels decision needed
He also urged regional negotiators in Brussels to resume discussions to finally establish an executive for the capital.
The formation of a new government in the Brussels-Capital Region is at a standstill because the socialist party PS (which would form the French-speaking majority together with MR and Les Engagés), does not want to negotiate with right-wing N-VA (which would form the Dutch-speaking majority together with Groen, Vooruit and Open VLD).
"I don't see why N-VA is causing so much fear in Brussels when they only have two representatives out of 89," Prévot noted. According to him, it is also essential to stop assuming that any institutional model changes are concessions to the Flemish.
The president of Les Engagés expressed openness to discussions on merging police zones (discussed during Federal Government negotiations) for operational reasons but argued that merging municipalities "doesn’t make much sense".
