The annual fee which all entrepreneurs have to pay to their local chamber of commerce is to be scrapped from 2013, the economic affairs ministry said on Tuesday.

The fees range from €40 for a freelancer to three times that for a larger firm. In total, the charges raise €160m a year.
‘Support for entrepreneurs must become more effective and cheaper,’ economic affairs minister Maxime Verhagen said in a statement. ‘That means a better and more focused service without the annual bill.’