Belgian finance minister’s aide under fire for sharing tax reform details at paid lecture

A senior aide to Belgian finance minister Jan Jambon is facing growing criticism after giving a paid lecture that included details of the government’s tax reform plans. Some information had reportedly not yet been shared with parliament.

Wesley De Visscher, Jambon’s chief of staff, spoke at a €160-per-ticket seminar on Monday evening in Bruges, organised by training firm SBM. Though he insists he was not paid and only shared public information, audio recordings suggest that he offered behind-the-scenes insights and unpublished figures, including a 200 euro monthly cut in unemployment benefits.

Opposition parties are accusing De Visscher of ethical misconduct. They argue that the event gave paying attendees privileged access to government policy. “Those who pay get early access to government policy while MPs are kept waiting. Will parliament soon have to buy tickets too?” asked Flemish liberal MP Vincent Van Quickenborne. Groen (Green) MP Meyrem Almaci also condemned the incident as “ethically indefensible”.

”Those who pay get early access to government policy while MPs are kept waiting”

Promotional materials for the event promised a “firsthand look” into the government’s internal workings. De Visscher now says the marketing was misleading and should have been corrected. However, he denies offering tax advice or sharing confidential strategies. 

Finance minister Jambon, of the Flemish nationalist N-VA party, defended his aide and said that De Visscher had followed internal guidelines by not accepting payment and sticking to publicly known information. He later released the PowerPoint presentation used at the event and the recording.

Opposition parties are now demanding further explanation in parliament. The left-wing PVDA is also filing a complaint with the commission.

^{Finance minister Jan Jambon © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND}