Brussels: Stop dancing, or pay a tax!

Brussels has stirred up a small storm by starting to enforce an obscure tax that charges clubs and restaurants 40c tax for each person who gets up and dances. Clubs have been hit with bills for retroactive taxes up to €2000.

Bonnefooi, a club that’s gotten a large tax bill, has stuck tongue-in-cheek ‘No Dancing’ stickers (above) in its windows. The tax was passed in 2014 but not enforced until now. Bonnefooi’s artistic director complains that he’d rather have the money to spend on performers.

The city’s finance department says the tax is necessary because public dancing entails “additional expenditure, in particular in the field of safety, public peace and public order.” 

Levying the tax has other problems, too: Inspectors must determine how many people are dancing. The Bonnefooi director told local press: “The tax inspector explained that the tax is based on the number of people dancing…Is throwing your arms in the air dancing?”

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7 years ago

Another example of why the UK wants to Brexit the European Union. Brussels – the Madmen of Europe. So far this year we’ve had 600,000 immigrants from Europe – mostly from Bulgaria – onto this tiny island we call Britain. And we’ve got more unskilled labour to come – even when we leave ! Yes – madness !

7 years ago

The European Parliament is in Brussels, Belgium. Members of the European Parliament have their main offices in Brussels, while Luxembourg and Strasbourg hosts parts of the administration.

I still maintain that all the politicians in Brussels are quite mad as your blog supports.

This is the European Parliament buildings in Brussels, Belgium – so much more than just a name people refer to.EuropeanParliament_aerial_view Brussels

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