Support in the form of checks or reduced VAT is not targeted enough. Only the social tariff would be adequate. But the analysis deserves to be nuanced.
It is a famous step in the pond that has just been launched by a study carried out by the University of Ghent in collaboration with the National Bank of Belgium: certain households benefit from a financial windfall effect with the federal aid decided within the framework of the energy crisis. In other words, these supports do not relieve their budget but on the contrary inflate their savings account.
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It is a famous step in the pond that has just been launched by a study carried out by the University of Ghent in collaboration with the National Bank of Belgium: certain households benefit from a financial windfall effect with the federal aid decided within the framework of the energy crisis. In other words, these supports do not relieve their budget but on the contrary inflate their savings account. “The reduction in VAT and the energy bonuses are not necessary for a middle-class family, and even less for high incomes”, underlines Gert Peersman, researcher at UGent. According to this study, wealthy families would have landed three quarters of the amounts allocated on savings accounts. But this is also the case for some of the less well-off families. The authors’ observation is implacable: this aid is not targeted enough. “Where we have completely missed the mark, adds economist Philippe Defeyt, is when we give this bonus to people who have high incomes, solar panels, a salary car coupled with a petrol card. , it’s indecent!” In some cases, the monthly assistance received turns out to be… higher than the monthly installment that must be paid. Within the federal government, we insist on the political choice made: to give a boost to the middle class which had not yet been supported in the face of the current shock. It was in particular a request from the MR and the PS concedes that it is a “political compromise”. Also, data is not available to target more precisely. “Helping the owners of photovoltaic panels is absurd, recognizes Philippe Defeyt. But to be able to do it, it is necessary to couple the databases and it is apparently difficult with the legislation on the protection of privacy.” The only aid on which there is unanimity is the social tariff which allows approximately one-fifth of the population to benefit from a limited energy price. A majority of the people concerned, underline the authors of the study, can indeed continue to consume it, which would not have been the case without this support. “Before the current crisis, it would have been enough for the government to extend the social rate for very vulnerable families, believes Gert Peersman. Ideally, the social rate would be a little more progressive to prevent those who are just above of the income threshold are left behind. In this way, the cost for the budget would also have been limited. “Because the total cost of aid for households amounts to 1 billion euros. In times of scarcity for the federal budget, this is not nothing. The social tariff, a more targeted aid, really? The CPAS of Liège has decided to extend its granting to allow one inhabitant out of two to have access to it! All with the support of an even more indebted Walloon Region. The analysis definitely deserves all the nuances. Especially since at the same time, another study by the National Bank underlines that the household savings rate has fallen sharply. This is the crisis, for all…
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