Focusing on incentives
The Liege area is a unique location for incentive packages. Compared to its immediate neightboring regions, it shows concrete advantages: Investment, Employment, Training, Research & Development,... Let us take stock of the question.
Investment
Mainly through the so-called "Objective 2" European Program you can benefit from the investment incentives in numerous areas in and around the city of Liege.Depending on the area you want to set up in, subsidies may vary. The region of Liege is divided into three zones. In the first one, the European program stipulates that all investments for an eligible activity starting before june 1999 are granted a fixed rate of 30% of the eligible investment amount. The ceiling is 3 million Belgian fancs ($ 85,714) cash grant per job created, with a minimum of 5 jobs. In the second one, which is the development area surrounding the city of Malmedy, subsidies can be as high as 21% for large companies, i.e. companies employing more than 250 people or having a turnover over 20 million ECU. In the third one, invesments for SMB's can be granted up to 18%.
Let us now compare Liege with its neighboring regions and see just what the differences are.
First of all, in Liege, the grant is provided for invesment in land, buildings and equipment as well as for some others. This is not the case in the Dutch province of Limburg where the 15% applies only to capital intensive projects and is computed for buldings and equipment only. In the Belgian Province of Limburg, the maximum grant is 21% and is available in a selected number of cities only. And the German city of Aachen is not eligible in terms of European incentives.
Taxes
Exemption from real estate tax may be granted for 3, 4, or 5 years in Wallonia. Companies setting up in the province of Liege benefit from a total 5-year exemption from local taxes. In the case of an extension, a 3 year exemption is granted.Employment and training
Employment incentives are available from both Federal and Regional Governments for 2 years. For industrial activities, training incentives are also granted for between 50 and 80% of the amount spent on training.Research and Development
As mentioned by the Gefinex Manager the consequent R&D financial aid provided in Liege is of high interest for companies willing to innovate. SMB's can benefit from up to 80% granted by the Walloon Region. Thanks to these regional incentives, Biocode, another Liege based company, is now succeeding on the global market. The human diagnostic kits it developed and it is manufacturing helped the company to become one of the world leaders in its field.