Belgium’s Queen Fabiola’s plan to create a private fund for inheritance purposes has been met with criticism from both the public and the government, reported the Associated Press, after concerns grew that the move was an attempt by the queen to dodge taxes on a fortune largely amassed with public money.
Belgium comes under the High Income OECD countries group as to the classification made by the World Bank on the basis of income and region for the year 2006.
The country’s economy is well developed and largely follows a free market economic system Exports of the country plays a significant role having a larger share in the Gross Domestic Product. The world’s greatest diamond trading center Antwerp belongs to this country.
In a development that will make solving the Euro-debt crisis even harder as Belgium assumes the EU Presidency at the end of June,
a Flemish separatist last week won an emphatic election victory in Flanders, the more prosperous Dutch-speaking region of the divided nation.
Belgium is due to assume the rotating presidency of the European Union in less than two weeks.
Interestingly, the country of Belgium was one of the original countries to join others in the forming of the European Union. Today, the economy of Belgium is defined by its high GNP but also strong workforce. One advantage this country has to many others is its central location, which allowed the country to be the first to go through an industrial revolution and capitalize on the region within Europe where it resides. However, one of the greatest economic challenges of Belgium is that raw materials are scarce.
