Obtaining subsidy support for companies in 'Degraded Zones' becomes easier

On 10/08/2018, the Law on the optimisation of aid to employers investing in a zone in difficulty was published in the Belgian Official Journal.

Save up to 5% on labour costs

SMEs and large companies investing in a defined assistance zone can obtain a temporary exemption of 25% from the payment of withholding tax on earned income, for a period of two years, for each additional job created as a result of an investment. The additional job must be maintained for at least three years in the case of SMEs or five years in the case of large firms. The benefit corresponds to a saving of 4 to 5% on labour costs.

Flanders has currently defined two assistance zones, one around Genk, the other around Turnhout, and a procedure is under way to recognise an assistance zone around Zaventem. You can check for yourself whether your company is located in an assistance zone at www.geopunt.be! To do so, right-click on "Build and live", then on support zones. Then enter your address details for more information.

New from 01/09/2018

• Aid may be applied for up to three months after completion of the investment
• Within a group of companies, the investment may be made by a different company from the one that creates new jobs.
• The problem of the reference period on the basis of which the new employment has so far been measured has finally been removed.
• Companies that have undergone a division or merger will be able to indicate this. As a result, they will no longer lose this support. This will be confirmed later in a Royal Decree.