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There are also hidden behind that 30% investments by landlords and managers. October 5, 2023 fact check economics politics According to Jos D'Haese, Flemish faction leader of the PVDA, more than half go of the renovation premiums to the 30% highest incomes. D'Haese is referring to the MyRenovation Premium, an online portal where Flemish people can apply for renovation subsidies to request. The premiums are determined according to three income categories. Half of the files indeed end up in the lowest income category. About 70% of Flemish people belong to this, but the percentage only takes into account applications from single people, not cohabiting couples. Moreover, you cannot equate the remaining half with the highest 30% incomes, because the highest two income categories also fall under investments by managers and landlords. On June 30, a plenary took place in the hemisphere of the Flemish Parliament session on the Flemish Energy and Climate Plan. During the hearing the effectiveness of measures already taken was important point of contention between majority and opposition. The faction leader of the PVDA Jos D'Haese that "more than half of the renovation premiums go to 30% highest incomes”. ###### My Renovation Premium: one counter with three income categories Since the end of 2022, the former premiums for renovation of Living have been in Flanders and the energy premiums from Fluvius are grouped together under the heading of the My Renovation Premium. Both private individuals and companies can use it online portal of the MijnVerbouwpremie to check which premiums they are entitled to to have. The allocation of the amounts is determined per specific premium. Er therefore no total limit applies. Not all renovation premiums fall under the MyRenovation Premium. This way you can get up to 31 December of this year, still contact Fluvius for the premium solar panels. But in a written response to factcheck.vlaanderen Anton Nilis, D'Haese's cabinet employee, emphasizes that the statement only relates to the income categories of the My Renovation Premium. When applying for the My Renovation Premium, you automatically fall under one of the following three income categories or target groups. The target group to which you belong determines the size of the amount per premium. A single person with a annual income of €40,730 falls under the third target group or lowest income category. Up to €51,840 below the middle income category and above That amount puts him in the first target group. For couples, families or For persons with dependent children, different rates apply. ###### Half of the applications belong to the lowest category In his written answer, Nilis refers to a graph about the number apply for the MijnVerbouwPremie on the energy card of the Flemish Energy Agency and Climate Agency (VEKA). These figures show that between October 2022 and May 2023 30,153 applications in the third target group, the lowest income category, were. We are talking about a total of 61,706 applications 47% of applications. Which is less than half. In the highest and middle target group, this concerns 29% and 17% respectively. The remaining seven percent is undetermined. Finally, the D'Haese cabinet relies on fiscal data from 2020 the Belgian statistics agency Statbel to conclude that 70% of Flemish people belong to the lowest income category. According to those numbers – those you can download here – the income limit for the seventh decile is at €41,308. In other words: the net taxable income of seven out of ten Vlamingen is lower or as high as this amount. ###### Different income limits “But those income limits do not correspond to those of the My Renovation Premium. And so there is no one-to-one relationship,” responds Geert Flipts, communications manager at VEKA by email. You can view the tax information from 2020 so do not simply link it to the current income limits of the My Renovation Premium. Although you can't apply for this year's applications either based on current income limits. Because this is determined when applying for a premium the latest tax notice to indicate which income category you belong to. And that note often dates from a year ago and is in turn then again based on your income from the previous year. But the fact remains that since the beginning of this year, the income limits for... premiums have indeed been increased. This was the case until the end of 2022 income limit for a single person to fall into the lowest target group €36,278. So it was possible to earn less than €41,308 and still earn up to belong to the second target group. That play makes D'Haese's statement difficult to verify. ###### Calculation only takes single people into account According to Dr. Kristof Heylen, research expert at the research institute for Labor and Society (HIVA), you would be the fiscal assumption of the cabinet D'Haese can still argue based on available data from 2013 index. In his written response by email, Heylen refers to one table about income limits for renovation premiums from a report by the SteunPunt Wonen from 2020. “If you assume that the indexed income distribution of 2023 is the same is like in 2013, the income limit of target group two would be in the ninth decile lie. And those of target group three are probably in the seventh decile.” In short: According to that calculation, seven in ten Flemish people fall within the category income limits of the first target group. But due to the lack of tax data for the past three years this assumption about income distribution is not self-evident. And Even if that assumption were correct, things are still going well, according to Heylen to 49.5% of the applications, which falls under the two highest target groups. So what is not more than half. Because you have seven percent of the applications, which belong to the belongs to an indefinite group must be deleted from the calculation. In addition, these individual income limits only apply to applications for singles. When families or couples submit an application, income per household, not per individual, is taken into account. ###### Requested versus approved files Flipts from VEKA shares that view, but there is another important one distinction: “The applications say nothing at all about the fact or that it is effectively a 'valid' application. Anyone can contribute applications, without checking in advance whether they are eligible.” The same energy map from VEKA indeed shows a difference exist between the requested and approved files. In the data of the approved files, there is no longer an indefinite group. Final those applications were rejected or allocated to one of the three income categories. So far, out of a total of 39,825 applications approved in 2023 19,019 in the lowest target group, 7,562 in the middle and 12,244 in the highest. Converted into percentages, the lowest target group comes to 49%. Until the middle group belongs to 19.5% of the applications and to the highest at 31.5%. Also of the approved applications this still concerns approximately half of those belongs to the third or lowest target group. ###### Investments by companies and landlords “But you cannot simply equate those other two target groups with the 30% highest incomes. Because investors such as companies and landlords are also involved in that category,” emphasizes Flipts. On the website of the MijnVerbouwpremie indeed explicitly states that 'non-residential buildings', such as offices and... commercial properties, are eligible for the premiums and are among the highest target group are included. And when a landlord renovates a home, then... This is of course advantageous for the tenant, who does not have to submit an application himself to serve. VEKA's figures also provide insight into the types of applicants. It shows that about 8% of the approved applications go to investors. ###### Conclusion It cannot be concluded that more than half of the MyRenovation premiums go to the 30% highest incomes. Despite the lack of recent figures, it is fiscally it is plausible that seven in ten Flemish households are up to the third or lowest income category. And about half of both the requested and approved files from the past year are among those group. But the calculation only takes into account single people, not... families. And there are also investments in the two higher target groups landlords or managers and you cannot simply identify them with the highest incomes. ✻ ###### Sources Consulted * Flemish Parliament | Plenary meeting report * My Renovation Premium | Flanders.be * Fluvius | Premium for solar panels * Who can apply for My Renovation Premium? | Flanders.be * Who can apply for My Renovation Premium? | Flanders.be *VEKA * Statbel | Tax incomes * Statbel | Tax income statistics * Flemish Energy and Climate Agency | Flanders.be * Quick start card target groups * Who can apply for My Renovation Premium? | Flanders.be * Owner-occupier * Kristof Heylen - HIVA * Income condition for the instruments of the Flemish housing policy * Other investor *VEKA ### Author ![](\\"/static/img/users/thibault.jpg\\"/) ### Thibault Coigniez Thibault first studied philosophy and history at KU Leuven. Then took another master's degree in literary studies. He is currently an editor at The Reactor and works here and there as a freelance writer. Since September 2023 he writes for factcheck.vlaanderen. ✻ Support us! ###### Also read... ![](\\"/static/content/vlaams-belang-onderschat-kostprijs-unia/og.jpg\\"/) Dec 2020 Vlaams Belang underestimates the cost price of Unia ![](\\"/static/content/refugees-ukraine-france-ukraine- nationality-none-1-on-3/og.jpg\\"/) Mar 2022 97.5% of refugees coming from Ukraine to France are Ukrainian nationality ![](\\"/static/content/belgium-highest-taxes-on-labour-of- oesd/og.jpg\\"/) June 4 Belgium has the highest taxes on labor of all OECD countries ![](\\"/static/content/20-countries-with-highest-GDP-responsible- for-70-percent-greenhouse-gas emissions/og.jpg\\"/) Dec 2022 20 countries with the highest GDP are responsible for 70 percent of emissions greenhouse gases RSS FEED Send your suggestions for fact checks or questions to info@factcheck.vlaanderen ![](\\"/static/img/EFCSN) ##### Follow us *Facebook *Twitter *TikTok *Instagram © Factcheck.Vlaanderen
More than half of the Flemish Mining Renovation premiums go to the 30 highest incomes