Fruit producers ordered to repay thousands in tax breaks

Hundreds of fruit producers in Belgium have been ordered to pay money back to the tax authorities after the Constitutional Court ruled that a tax break for hiring seasonal workers was not legal.

The ruling followed a complaint from the country’s temporary workers' federation, which successfully argued that it was not fair that some workers were not covered by the tax exemptions.

The news has angered some 1,600 fruit and vegetable growers who have received a letter from the finance ministry demanding them to repay several thousands of euros.

“I’m livid, the whole sector is furious,” François Delarbre, a fruit-grower in Hannêche, Liège province told RTBF. “It is like changing the rules of the game in the middle of a match.”

This local producer is now being asked to repay €20,000 to the tax authorities for the seasonal workers he hired in 2024 and 2025, when he thought he would be exempt from this tax.

"Personally, I don’t have that amount to pay back. We’re completely at a loss. We don’t know what to do,” he said.

Guillaume Mahieu, who runs Les Vergers de Barry near Tournai, Hainaut, is similarly depressed. Mahieu employs two salaried staff year-round as well as about 60 seasonal workers throughout the year to help run his 18-hectare farm.

Thanks to the previous exemption from professional tax, he thought he could offset the increase in seasonal workers’ wages three years ago. This wage has gone from around €9.60/hour to more than €13/hour for all seasonal workers.

“It was a good thing because it meant more people were attracted to work for us. And in return, we received these famous aids on professional withholding tax to avoid putting a strain on our cashflow,” said Mahieu.

This advantage would be crushed by the administration’s €12,000 tax demand, which he said represents 10% of the money needed to pay salaries for 2024 and 2025 – the equivalent of four people.

Claude Vanhemelen, secretary-general of the Walloon Horticultural Federation, told RTBF that the tax authorities acted too quickly.

"The administration is doing its job and implementing what has been decided," she said. "But we are still negotiating on this matter."

Venhemelen’s federation, along with the Flemish equivalent, the Boerenbond, is looking for a solution to prevent its members having to foot the bill.

She said that this was especially important "as no error has been committed by the 1,600 market gardeners and horticulturalists penalised by the tax authorities".