- Luxembourg City council has approved a new general development plan, updating the plan first published in the 1990s. The capital’s population has grown 30% over the past 10 years, and the document aims to improve housing and mobility, while maintaining quality of life, said François Benoy, the Green deputy mayor. The plan calls for increased development in Gasperich, Hollerich, Merl and Kirchberg, and opens the door for increased density in other neighbourhoods. However, there are no plans to expand the city limits. The average cost of housing in Luxembourg City stands at roughly €7,400 per square metre. Residents can file complaints against the plan with the Interior Ministry between 8 and 23 May.
- The Luxembourg Bankers Association (ABBL) said the sector’s big boost in profits last year (up 14.9% over 2015) were due to exceptional transactions. Stripped of these one-off earnings, profitability only rose 1.5%. In response to Aleba, the financial sector trade union which has decried growing redundancies in the banking industry, the ABBL said just 1,207 job positions overall had been lost since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008. Unions and bank bosses are currently negotiating a new contract.
- The cabinet has approved new support schemes for small and medium sized enterprises. The new programmes will help underwrite SMEs participating in the EU Interreg bids, new startups, repairs following natural disasters, and venture capital seeding funds. There are roughly 30,000 SMEs in Luxembourg. The government has existing financial aid grants, among others, for SMEs to engage management consultants and participate in trade fairs for the first time.
- Although the Beps initiative to combat multinational tax evasion is relatively precise in its language, “some room for manoeuver is left to states participating in the Beps project to make the scheme more attractive”. So said Keith O’Donnell, managing partner of the tax advisory firm Atoz. One area of flexibility is the treatment of intellectual property. O’Donnell would like Luxembourg’s government to take advantage of this Beps language to remain economically attractive as tax rules become increasingly harmonised around the world.
- More than 8 in 10 Luxembourg residents think belonging to the EU is a good thing. That’s according to a Eurobarometer study conducted for the European Parliament. The average across the EU is 57%. Nearly 28,000 citizens in the 28 member states were polled in March.