Piper Paid

It's finally here for those who pay taxes in Belgium - Tax Liberation Day.

August 6 - that special day when the Average Joe (Gemiddelde Joost, if you will) tax payer has theoretically earned enough to pay their tax burden for the year.  

Yes, from January 1 until today, every last eurocent earned has gone to the government.  Earned income for the remaining 20 weeks of the year is ours to spend as we wish - on things like rent, food and utilities - taxed at 21%, by the way.

When will this occur in the U.S.?  It already has . . . way back on April 21 - nearly 4 months ago! 

What about Canada?  That was back on June 9.

And the UK?  Even earlier . . . June 2.

But what about those really expensive places to live like Australia, Switzerland, Norway?

Those were on April 10, May 2, and July 29 respectively.  Okay, Norway is just a week behind Belgium, but that still makes Belgium the most heavily taxed country in Europe.

But as this BBC article points out . . .

"In a lot of the European countries tax rates and social security contributions are high but the provision of benefits by the state tends to be very generous compared to countries in other parts of the world," "If you fall ill or become unemployed the state will contribute and there are also generous pension arrangements."

There you have it.  Free lunch.  No such thing.

A Recent Visit to Brugge

Jim recently attended a business meeting in Brugge and I got to tag along.

On the first evening, we had cocktails at the home of the Governor of West Flanders (that's the province in Belgium where Brugge is).  We are with a nice couple we got to know from Santiago, Spain.  Nely and Virgilio.

Partners of the meeting attendees had a few scheduled events for the weekend . . . one was learning how a chocolatier makes the chocolate Belgium is so famous for.

This is me sniffing chocolate from a little gadget that shoots it up your nose.  Just another way to enjoy chocolate?

We also got to have lunch at this beautiful bed and breakfast located right on the canal.  

It's one of the oldest homes in Brugge - built in the 13th century.

We also got to take a ride on this little horse and cart.

Waiting patiently for our return.

We had coffee at this nice little cafe.

We also toured the Rodenbach Brewery . . .

The unique beer is aged for 2 years in these 150 year old oak casks.

We had a nice dinner at the brewery with amazing entertainment from these talented young people.

On our canal tour, we were introduced to this dog named Fidel who sits in this window in his house overlooking the canal.  Not bad, huh?

Nely and Virgilio on our canal ride.  They invited us to come to their home in Santiago for a visit and we just may do that!

A beautiful day in Brugge, Belgium.

Graduation Day

On September 12 (make that July 12), Ross graduated from Solvay School of Economics and Business in Brussels.  He's the tall one right under 2014.

He earned an Advanced Masters degree in Marketing and Creativity.

He worked hard, made good friends and learned a lot . . .

Congratulations and good luck!

Very proud parents :)

Tuin

The photo above is our backyard not long after we moved in nearly 5 years ago.  At the point this photo was taken, we had already trimmed and mowed and cleaned up a bit.

That was then and this is now.  We've come a long way, baby.

Our newest and best additions . . .

gnomes by Randi :)

The Big Game . . . sort of

Unbelievable.

First, that I'm posting again about soccer and . . .

that out of all 32 countries vying for the World Cup, Belgium and the U.S. will go head to head in a football match tomorrow, 17:00 Brazil time (15:00 CST and 22:00 in Belgium).  That's also way past my bedtime.

The guys at work have asked Jim who he's pulling for and he says, he can't lose either way.  Good answer.

May the best team win.