A special tax on diamonds earned the State 68.4 million euros in 2017, beating a budget forecast of 50 million euros and dwarfing 2016’s tally of 51.2 million euros, De Standaard and de Gazet van Antwerpen dailies reported on Monday. Under the “Carat tax”, as it is called, diamond companies pay the normal corporate taxes, which amounted to 33.99% in 2017, but pay only 0.55% to 2.1% of their gross turnover, as a result of the various deductions they are awarded. Finance Minister Johan Van Overtveldt (New Flemish Alliance) said…
Read MoreDay: May 15, 2018
Ready, steady, receive your Wi-Fi now
From today, 15 May, at 13.00 [Central European time] precisely, Brussels and municipalities throughout the European Union (EU) will be able to apply for a first batch of 1,000 WiFi4EU vouchers, the European Commission announced today, and benefit more from today’s increasingly digital world. Indeed, the aim of this scheme, in the words of Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, is to connect “every European village and every city with free wireless internet access around the main centres of public life by 2020”. “The EU is bringing Wi-Fi into your parks, squares,…
Read More