Hasselt-Kortessem Residents Save €630,000 Post-Merger Following 15% Reduction

Hasselt- Kortessem ( Brussels Morning Newspaper ) – As Hasselt unites with Kortessem, the local taxpayers save €630,000 each year because taxes on personal income drop from 8.5% to 7%. Hasselt’s purchasing power rises as bingo permissions and the abolition of the second-home tax bolster financial potential, with no impact on local residents.

Residents of Kortessem now benefit from a major tax decrease as a result of the Hasselt-Kortessem merger. New Hasselt residents benefit from a yearly tax savings of €630,000 derived from the reduction in personal income tax and surcharges from 8.5% to 7%. The removal of taxes on bingo events and second properties followed other tax eliminations. City residents will experience a consistent set of tax regulations from Hasselt City Council over the following six years after the two municipalities merge. The community’s tax policies are undergoing this reform as one part of a unified tax approach following the mergers to create equal treatment standards for all residents.

Kortessem received its tax cut directly from the Hasselt merger process due to a unified tax rate system for both areas. Locals in Hasselt formerly faced a 7% supplementary personal income tax burden, while today, these same conditions exist in Kortessem as well. 

Finance Alderman Tom Thijsen selected Kortesem’s lower tax rate for inter-municipal unions specifically to protect Hasselt resident taxes while bringing relief to Kortessem citizens.

The city of Hasselt must now take into account less income. Alderman Thijsen:

That is indeed a negative return for Hasselt, but that is taken into account in the multi-year plan. But because of the merger we also had a debt takeover by the Flemish government, that also has to be settled.

What is the context of the tax reduction?

 Kortessem taxpayers receive financial advantages through the lowered property tax surcharges, which changed from €1008.00 to €986.40. The union created between Hasselt and Kortessem has resulted in eliminating local taxes previously used solely in Kortessem, including those from bingo games and secondary house ownership. Erstellen of this policy aims to increase the buying power in Kortessem and affect residents solely in Kortessem. 

According to the alderman, there is a negative financial effect on Hasselt through lower income, which is clearly presented in their established financial plan. 

At the start of the new administrative period, the tax rate will be set for the next 6 years,

explains Alderman for Finance Tom Thijsen (CD&V).

We have decided that this will be the lowest rate of the 2 merged municipalities. So taxes will not increase for the Hasselt residents, but they will decrease for the people in Kortessem. 

Within the merged municipality, the Flemish government’s implementation of debt responsibility has served as an additional financial stabilising measure. The city government of Hasselt needs to work with reduced income while following its multi-year plan to move forward. The Flemish government executed a debt takeover as part of the merger, which needed an active settlement.

The alderman for Finance hopes that the tax reduction in Kortessem will now give residents there more purchasing power.

That in Hasselt will remain unaffected because the tax rate