[ricardobayes]

He got fed up by the tug of war between parties that seem to focus solely on grabbing power instead of implementing long-term solutions. I think we will see major changes in the ranking of countries in Europe in the next lifetime. Austria and Belgium are now net beneficiaries of EU budget. You simply can't build a competitive economy with 50-79% income taxes. I can't think of any single high-value add product or service that comes from Belgium. There must be a reason for that.

[maxboone]

The reason isn't just income tax, considering the tax deductibles in Belgium the income tax doesn't go near that for starters.

Belgium is a net beneficiary of the EU, because the European institutions housed there.

The reason that you don't know high value services is likely because drivers of the Belgian economy are not hyped products.

Take a peek at the BEL20 and you'll see some internationally influential businesses.