the floor leader of PM Bart De Wever’s Flemish nationalist N-VA in the chamber of representatives has responded to today’s trade union protests against the new Belgian government ‘I really wonder why people are demonstrating today,’ says N-VA lawmaker Axel Ronse we have made it possible for people to retire at the age of 60 if they have worked for 42 years Are the unions still standing up for the workers or just for the people who don't want to work?’ Mr Ronse defends the cuts announced by the government ‘We are standing up for today's teenagers and twenty-somethings be able to go to the doctor at affordable prices and get a decent education,’ he says the whole social security system will completely collapse This demonstration is a two fingers up to the future of teenagers and twenty-somethings.’ ‘In contrast to all the people who are demonstrating today there are millions of people at work today who are thinking Let's finally get on with this government I see a lot of reasonableness elsewhere and I also think reason will soon return.’ Dutch rider Sophie de Boer (Kalas-NNOF) won the first round of the Bpost Bank Trophy cyclo-cross series in Ronse The win at the GP Mario De Clercq is the first victory for the 23-year-old who turned professional back in 2008 At the finish line on top of the Hotondberg de Boer had a bonus of seven seconds on Helen Wyman (Kona) Thanks to the 15 bonus seconds gained at the intermediate sprint Wyman is the first leader of the series Belgian rider Jolien Verscheuren (Decock Woningbouw Vandekerckhove) was a surprising name in third place “I’m extremely happy for myself and the team The running sections were extremely hard and Helen kept putting me under pressure Still I was confident I could hold on to my lead,” De Boer told Sport.be after her win Disaster struck early on when several riders crashed in the first left-hand corner of the race Among the casualties were Sanne Cant (Enertherm-BKCP) Ellen Van Loy (Young Telenet-Fidea) and Loes Sels Wyman didn’t wait and the British champion sped away with only Verscheuren and Nikki Harris (Young Telenet-Fidea) able to keep up Bad luck struck Wyman on the slopes of the steep Hotondberg when a chain problem cost her the front position Harris was the first to pass her compatriot with De Boer and Verscheuren being the first chasers at short distance Further back Wyman and Van Loy were coming closer on the mostly dry but extremely demanding course Harris seemed to be heading for the win but another mechanical took out the race leader A delighted De Boer profited and grabbed her first big win just ahead of Wyman Verscheuren claimed third place at 20 seconds back just like the 24-year-old Belgian did at the final Superprestige round in Middelkerke last season Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device Sign In Subscribe Now New regulations designed to crack down on fraud will also hurt honest real estate agents say realtors in Langley and the Fraser Valley the Office of the Superintendent of Real Estate has put forward new rules that are aimed at banning realtors from representing both buyer and seller in a real estate transaction (FVREB) which includes realtors from North Delta to Abbotsford and Chilliwack “It’s going to affect the buyers and sellers,” said Leo Ronse As long at there is transparency and professionalism But the province’s real estate watch dog is ending the practice to prevent fraud particularly a type of fraud known as “shadow flipping.” A home that should be valued at $1.5 million might be sold to an associate of the realtor for $1 million The new owner then turns around and re-sells the house again at proper market rates with the buyer pocketing the difference and the realtor collecting commissions on both sales Police investigations in Metro Vancouver have also turned up links between money laundering through B.C casinos and the purchase of high-end real estate in the region Ronse argues that the problems with shadow flipping are primarily in Vancouver there are legitimate reasons for re-selling houses The rules can be so restrictive that a realtor can be entirely forced out of a transaction dropping representation of both buyer and seller and a client of his from another transaction asked to look at it Ronse said the new rules might mean he would have to stop representing both of them – the rules would say he knew too much about the potential buyer Both seller and buyer would have to find new realtors to represent them writing a letter to the Real Estate Council of B.C “Requiring licensees [realtors] to walk away from these clients at their time of greatest need and emotional pressure – during the offer and negotiation – does these clients a great disservice and trivializes their relationship with their agent Privacy Act and professional standards already cover many of the issues at stake Ronse said the solution is to hammer the bad realtors who are ripping off clients with heavy fines The new rules are expected to come into force this spring Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. 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Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999 and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling Sign In Register speculation and vacancy tax – which for 2018 is based on a tax rate of 0.5% of a home’s assessed value – was designed to target domestic and foreign speculators that own residences in B.C residents who own only one home should be exempted All owners of residential property in the designated taxable regions of B.C must complete an annual declaration for an exemption or they will need to pay the tax Some owners are being caught off guard by finding out they do not fit into one of the exemptions “If someone had to pay the speculation tax for 2018 they really need to look to see if there are steps to be taken in order to get them into one of the available exemptions for 2019 – if not whether the annual tax is something they can bear,” says Manning Elliott LLP senior tax manager and chartered professional accountant Michael Ronse he or she will need to look at disposing of the property The two most common exemptions are the principal residence exemption and the tenancy exemption Some of Ronse’s clients have had confusion with the principal residence exemption thinking that – as with income tax – they have the ability to choose one of their two homes as their principal residence The speculation and vacancy tax principal residence exemption requires homeowners to claim the place where they reside for a longer period in a calendar year than any other place as their principal residence may end up spending more time in their vacation home “Instead of what they would ordinarily think of as their principal residence being their more expensive home that is in a suburb of the Lower Mainland they must claim their vacation home instead” as their principal residence for speculation tax purposes One of Ronse’s clients lives in Vancouver is a Canadian citizen and spends over six months a year living in his home in Vancouver and declares the majority of their income there The speculation tax doesn’t allow foreign owners or members of a satellite family to claim a principal residence exemption “Because our client’s spouse earns more money than our client for speculation tax purposes they are considered to be an untaxed worldwide earner meaning they’re considered to be a member of a satellite family,” says Ronse The client’s spouse is looking at immigrating to Canada getting citizenship and filing Canadian income tax returns so the spouse would not be treated as a member of a satellite family hopefully fitting into a principal residence exemption for speculation tax purposes for 2019 a corporation owned by a family trust owns residential property Two brothers affiliated with the company are beneficiaries of the family trust and one occupies the home as his principal residence The speculation tax looks through to the beneficiaries of the trust and to the corporate interest holders If not all of the corporate interest holders of a corporation are Canadian residents the person who lives in the home can’t get a principal residence exemption we have to look at that overall ownership structure and change the corporate interest holders if we’re going to get the result that should have happened in 2018.” Because the property is being occupied and used this property shouldn’t count as a speculation He cautions companies to get tax advice if they have similar ownership concerns what this really amounts to is a wealth tax,” says Ronse “It’s not really a speculation tax because speculation to me is transactional in nature and the amount of speculation tax someone’s going to pay is an annual tax the more speculation tax they’re going to pay on that home if they don’t have an exemption available.” Belgian rail track company Infrabel is renovating the Louise-Marie Tunnel between the East Flemish towns of Ronse and Oudenaarde The German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler is said to have sought a refuge here against Allied bombs during the Second World War The tunnel that provides a vital rail link across the Flemish Ardennes is also known as the Spichtenberg Tunnel by the Germans It was built during the 19th century and in two world wars played an important role in the German war effort allowing Axis and Nazi powers to bring in men and supplies At the end of the Great War retreating German troops blew up the tunnel Repaired after the war it once again saw service during the Second World War Adolf Hitler is said to have sheltered here in the night of 22 December 1940 But the tunnel was also a focus of resistance activity In 1944 the resistance sabotaged a locomotive and blocked the tunnel After the war English engineers restored the rail link The tunnel was originally built between 1857 and 1861 making it one of the oldest rail tunnels in Belgium During the 19th century it contributed towards prosperity allowing textile manufacturers from Ghent and Ronse to access European markets As a result of the works no trains will operate between Ronse and Oudenaarde this summer Engineers will work round the clock to renovate the tunnel in time In the meantime the rail company will operate replacement buses Epiphany in Ronse means more than taking down old Christmas decorations: it’s synonymous for yet another party characters dressed in monumental costumes whose main purpose is to knock each other senseless as they parade along a route This bizarre spectacle is the high-point of the events on ‘Crazy Monday’ now rather confusingly held on the first Saturday after Epiphany every year The small town of Ronse is a rarity in the plat pays (flat country) of Flanders situated as it is in the hills of the Ardennes the town is known also for the church of St Hermes whose 11th-century crypt was a site of pilgrimage for the mentally ill throughout the Middle Ages Fly to Brussels (64 km from Ronse) with Air Malta please register for free or log in to your account.