500 euros. What are we talking about precisely? Are we talking about a salary increase?
“The 500 euros of difference between those who work and those who do not work, it will be born! It will be born via a dozen different measures. These measures will begin to be implemented in the year 2026. With two phenomena. A phenomenon of tax drop and an increase in the net wages of workers. The salary will increase via the increase in exempt quota, via the division of the Solidarity. Bonus that will only be granted to those who work. “
So we are not talking about the differential of 500 euros that currently exists between the minimum wage and the Ris?
“The idea is that all the people who work must have at least 500 euros more than the one who does not work. With also the accessory aid. So, we will create a cadastre of social aids, so that, when we combine all aid, we can never be less than 500 euros less than the one who works.”
How are you going to proceed?
“We are going to work on two phenomena. We increase both workers’ pocket salary and we cap the increase in social aid. In recent years, under the Vivaldi government, certain social benefits have increased by more than 30 %. No indexing of wages has experienced the same progression. With Arizona, we will end up with a cap in the increase in these social aids, a much higher wages and Taxation.
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The government agreement actually speaks of going to “increase net wages”. So there is a series of measures that will happen?
“The press has a hypercourt memory. The Prime Minister said it himself on the day of the establishment of his government. It was his basic argument, 500 euros difference.”
But on the implementation, there is still a lack of specific details.
“We know that we are going to make a cadastre of social aid. How do it do it? Several versions can still exist. Three mechanisms will be used to lower tax for workers. Increase in the quota exempt between 13,000 and 14,000 euros instead of 10,570 today. Division by two of the solidarity contribution. And a bonus job on the lowest and wage medium so that the tax is not more Lower salaries. will use for the platform, it still has to go through texts. But everything is in the government agreement. “
-This increase in wages will be implemented from 2027, if I hear well. Once the tax reform is implemented?
“No. These are different measures that are gradually being implemented. This is a complete revolution in our social model. A series of measures will already be integrated into the 2026 budget, therefore adopted before the end of 2025, and others will complete. The gap will be widen as the legislature to reach at least 500 euros between 2027 and 2028. We say at least ‘because there is the ambition to be able to go beyond”.
Hence the sentence “we increase net wages” …
“Exactly. Our will is to be able to further increase this increase. Why? Because there are indexes that can come to complete. And there is also the idea that each budgetary margin used must be returned to work.”
Have you ever been able to estimate the cost for the state?
“Yes. Net cost is very difficult. It is a paradox. More people work, the more it reports. Here, the net cost of the decline in taxation, it is a little more than 5 billion euros in working tax drop. And we will decrease social contributions. In the whole of the legislature, it is 1.7 billion euros. 1 billion comes in this agreement. It is 1.7 billion.
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You expect a number of return effects. With these methods, do you hope to recover money by putting more people at work?
“Of course. Of course. The government agreement provides almost 8 billion euros in increase in terms of impact on the economy. And the objective is still 80 % employment rate. You know, it’s a little bit like the CPAS. We are told that 100,000 people will go to the CPAS, and everyone cries with that. But no! Some of them are working. Unemployment. specific. [ministre wallon de l’Emploi, MR]. He will come in the coming weeks with a whole reform of the activation of beneficiaries to the CPAS so that these people can also be activated. Eyes in my eyes, I can guarantee that the 500 euros difference, the campaign promise, it will be executed. There is not a micropourcentage, half a thousand of doubt on the subject. “
Are we talking about 500 euros net in addition? And not a differential that already exists between the minimum wage and the Ris?
“This differential does not exist currently. What you do not listen to is that I said that it understood all the other aids. [Quand vous vivez avec le revenu d’intégration sociale, vous avez aussi] The free crèche, your social housing, the question of the free bus, the question of drugs, the social energy rate, etc. When you add this, you have corporate beneficiaries who earn more than a worker. First element. Second element, what you mention are two amounts that are very theoretical because there is almost no one at the minimum wage. There are very few people in Belgium at the minimum wage. And on the other side, the Ris for an isolated. But you have to take the reality of families, etc. Here, we did a calculation so that in all cases, including the aid, there are always 500 euros difference between the one who works and the one who does not work. “
