hetismij, there was a report in the paper recently that Belgians pay the second highest rate of taxes in Europe, second only to Sweden.

The difference with The Netherlands is that they don't have a wealth tax, and income from interest and dividends is taxed at a lower rate. That is why many rich Dutch people live in Belgium. Also, Belgium has less generous deductions, so those who work here pay taxes over a higher proportion of their income.

I'm Dutch living in Belgium, with a husband who works here, and get a bit tired sometimes of being called a tax exile by Dutch people. We love living here though, and would never consider moving back to the Netherlands, no matter what the tax situation is.

By the way, it now seems that the french-speakers are willing to consider the flemish proposals after all, and want the prime minister to stay on.

I feel better informed - thank you.

Maybe, as there is such a movement towards regional control over regional life, we should disband all the nation states of Europe, and cut out the federal tier. So instead of having region/nation/EU we just have region/EU.

Think of Catalunya. Or even the UK - where after centuries of centralisation Scotland and Wales now have their own parliament
/assembly.

I'm not advocating this - haven't thought about it enough - just wondering if anyone cares to comment.

@ afterall
Oh no, I don't agree at all. Every nation state, even every region, has its own identity. Language, habits, ... I really don't want to give up on that.

King Albert II rejected the PM's resignation, insisting he stick it out and find a solution to the crisis:
"The king received Leterme's resignation on Monday evening and requested official discussions of talks with leading politicians about a solution. He also named three mediators with instructions to find a way out of the crisis: two French-speaking politicians Francois-Xavier de Donnea and Raymond Langendries - as well as Karl-Heinz Lambertz from German-speaking Belgium. (Sourcepats.com)"
www.xpats.com