Regionalisering van de woonbonus: naar een beleid op maat van het Brussels Gewest?

• Main Authors: Nicolas Bernard, Valérie Lemaire
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Université Saint-Louis Bruxelles 2015-01-01
• Series: Brussels Studies
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/brussels/1253

The sixth state reform has just made the Regions competent as regards the taxation of mortgage loans for one’s “own and sole” home. Commonly referred to as the “housing bonus”, this system benefits many taxpayers. It is nevertheless the object of criticism. This tax incentive – whose overall value amounts to tens of thousands of euros per person – is granted without income-related conditions. The richest also benefit, when they would have become homeowners without this help. At the same time, the disadvantaged households scarcely make use of it, simply because property prices are too prohibitive for them. This tax incentive raises prices by stimulating the demand, so that in the end it benefits sellers rather than buyers. Finally, the housing bonus (less advantageous by half in this case) discriminates against those who live alone. That just shows that, especially in a context of budgetary restrictions, it is important for the Regions to reconfigure the housing bonus, in particular in a more social sense. In future, this advantage could also be linked to healthiness or energy requirements, or be saved for first-time buyers.