Difference between revisions of "IS427:AY1314T1 Europe (G1) - Cities: Ghent"
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! style="background-color:#696969; color: white" width="18%" | [[IS427:AY1314T1_Europe_%28G1%29_-_Cities:_Ghent | <font color="#ffffff"><b>Ghent, Belgium</b></font>]] | ! style="background-color:#696969; color: white" width="18%" | [[IS427:AY1314T1_Europe_%28G1%29_-_Cities:_Ghent | <font color="#ffffff"><b>Ghent, Belgium</b></font>]] |
Revision as of 22:35, 24 October 2013
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Contents
General
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province. Started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys Dutch is the official language Christianity, in particular Catholicism, is the biggest religion with about 57% of the population adhering to the Catholic Church
The Metropolitan area covers an area of 1205 km2 Total population of 594,582 as of 1st January 2008 Ranked as 2nd most populous in Belgium. Today, Ghent is a busy city with a port and a university.
Political History
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7th |
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11th |
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12th - 13th |
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14th |
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15th |
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16th |
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17th |
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18th |
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19th |
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Current Political Situation
Belgium is one of the few post-industrialised countries where more than 50% of the dependent labour force belongs to a trade union
The main responsibility for welfare payments and unemployment benefits is handled by trade/labour unions rather than government agencies
This is a system first implemented in Ghent and is known as the Ghent system.[1]
Socialist Elio di Rupo was appointed to lead a six-party coalition in December 2011, finally giving Belgium a government after nearly a record year-and-a-half (451 days) of no governance
Culture
Etiquette and Protocol
Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
iMinds
Investment Scene
Business Environment
Belgium is a constitutional monarchy in which ultimate power rests with a bicameral parliament. It has one of the most open economies in the world as a result of its economic integration and interdependence with its three main neighboring countries – France, Germany and the Netherlands.
Belgium is an EU member state (with Brussels, the capital, serving as the seat of the EU) and also is a part of the Benelux, a tariff union between Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. As an EU member state, Belgium is required to comply with all EU directives and regulations and it follows EU regulations on trade treaties, import regulations, customs duties, agricultural agreements, import quotas, rules of origin and other trade regulations. It also is a member of the OECD.
Each of the three main regions in Belgium have their own distinct cultural and linguistic “communities” (Flemish, French and German) and their own parliaments and executives. As the capital and largest city of the East Flanders region, Ghent is a busy city with many hospitals, schools, Flanders’ biggest university and the country’s third largest port.
Setting up a Business
Foreign subsidiaries generally take the form of a SA/NV (société anonyme/naamloze vennootschap – limited liability company), while the SPRL/BVBA (société à responsabilité limitée/besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid – private limited liability company) is the preferred form of organization for small (particularly family-owned) firms and may be used for small management companies.
The main difference between an SA/NV and an SPRL/BVBA is that the latter is essentially based on “a relationship of trust” among associates. For this reason, the shares of a private limited liability company are registered shares and their transferability is restricted (e.g. the other shareholders have pre-emptive rights to purchase any shares). Share capital is also higher for an SA/NV.
As was confirmed in the most recent 'Global Information Technology Report' by the World Economic Forum, as well as the 'Doing Business 2009' report by World Bank, it is possible to set up a business in just 4 days in Belgium. Belgium is one of the only countries in the world where it can be done so quickly. Moreover there are, on average, only 3 procedures required to start a business.
Intellectual Property Rights
Patents, trademarks, copyrights and industrial designs and models are legally recognized in Belgium. The recognized holder of intellectual property has exclusive rights to exploit the property, to assign such rights via a license and to bring actions for infringement. For abuse of a patent or trademark, the holder may be awarded damages and obtain an injunction to prevent continued abuse. A licensee alone cannot get an injunction, but must work jointly with the patent or trademark holder to claim damages.
Taxation Incentives for Innovations
Belgium offers a patent income deduction that amounts to 80% of the income, resulting in a maximum effective tax rate of 6.8% on qualifying patent income. The incentive is intended to encourage R&D activities in relation to the development of patents or improvement of patented products or processes. For Belgian operations, the patent income deduction is designed to stimulate Belgian companies to take ownership of the patents or to improve a patent in an R&D center (Belgian or foreign).
Other R&D incentives include:
- An R&D tax credit that allows (provided certain conditions are satisfied) overall R&D costs to be reduced by 5% to 8%, either by way of a tax deduction or via a refundable tax credit.
- A payroll withholding tax exemption of up to 75%, which is granted for qualifying researchers and reimbursed to the employer (which allows on average a decrease of between 15 and 20% of the salary costs).
Labor Environment
Belgian labor law encompasses laws on the terms of employment and rules on health and safety. Many of these derive from EU legislation and many of the employment conditions have their roots in collective bargaining agreements that are binding by royal decree.
Average salaries in Belgium are not that high compared with average salaries in other Western European countries. However, considerable social security contributions and professional withholding tax have to be paid on top of the net wage, so that the total cost of employing workers in Belgium is relatively high in comparison with other Western European countries.
References
- ↑ The Ghent system is the name given to an arrangement in some countries whereby the main responsibility for welfare payments, especially unemployment benefits, is held by trade/labor unions, rather than a government agency. The system is named after the city of Ghent, Belgium, where it was first implemented. It is the predominant form of unemployment benefit in Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden. Belgium has a hybrid or "quasi-Ghent" system, in which the government also plays a significant role in distributing benefits. In all of the above countries, unemployment funds held by unions or labour federations are regulated and/or partly subsidised by the national government concerned. Because workers in many cases need to belong to a union to receive benefits, union membership is higher in countries with the Ghent system. Furthermore, the state benefit is a fixed sum, but the union benefits depend on previous earnings.