The American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg (AMCHAM) has published the contents of a letter its Chairman and CEO, Paul Schonenberg, recently addressed to Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden.
The "Action Agenda" letter, dated 15 April 2025, presents a series of nine proposals aimed at improving the business climate, encouraging investment and enhancing Luxembourg's attractiveness from the perspective of the international business community.
Ministry of Finance activities
The first point saw Paul Schonenberg, on behalf of AMCHAM, acknowledge the efforts already made by Luxembourg's Ministry of Finance to "reduce the tax burden for companies and employees", although "more needs to be done", notably "lowering the corporate tax rate to the EU average of 21% (or lower to 20%) to ensure our competitiveness as the preferred European business location".
Regulatory simplification and government cost management
In its letter, AMCHAM also shared companies' complaints about complex policies and procedures. It called on the government to "simplify and minimise policies to only those absolutely necessary with low-cost compliance by companies assured". AMCHAM also advocated "a smaller, more efficient and lower-cost government", arguing this would "make Luxembourg stronger" from an economic perspective.
Banking access
AMCHAM argued that Luxembourg should "provide easy access to basic banking services for all residents and companies"; this means ensuring "minimal time delay and bureaucracy" when new arrivals try to open an account. "These steps will help newcomer people and companies feel welcome, integrate and participate in the economy immediately," AMCHAM continued.
Transatlantic trade and investment partnership enhancement
AMCHAM described the US-Europe trade and investment partnership as "the engine which has ensured our economic and political freedom and prosperity for many years". The chamber said it believed "non-tariff barriers" are currently a greater issue than tariffs. It called for efforts to "expand and strengthen" this "mutually beneficial relationship".
NATO cooperation initiatives
AMCHAM praised "Luxembourg's recent decision to build and pay for a second NATO satellite using SES as the Prime Contractor", adding that this was "a very smart way to fulfil Luxembourg's NATO funding obligation while likewise ensuring the money spent stays within the Luxembourg economy". The chamber also encouraged the government to "create a Cyber Corps training and operational capability within the Luxembourg military", arguing that this would both "help Luxembourg men and women serve their country using NATO-obligated national funds" and develop "very valuable digital and cyber security skills".
Luxembourg pension reform
On the hot topic of pensions, AMCHAM advocated a law change to allow employees to "delay the start of their pensions beyond age 65 and voluntarily continue to work and make social security contributions to enhance their social security pension entitlements at a later date". The chamber argued that several groups of people (e.g. foreigners, women who have taken a career break for childcare) would benefit from this allowance. "We have noticed an ever-increasing number of insufficiently entitled retirees who are voluntarily motivated to continue to work beyond age 65 and who wish to be able to delay their retirement start, continue to contribute to the government's pension scheme and get greater benefits at a later date as a result". AMCHAM added that, while it encouraged corporate and private pensions, "many people appreciate the safety and security of the government pension scheme".
Micro-housing actions
AMCHAM noted that it was pleased to have been accredited by Luxembourg's Ministry of Housing "as eligible for up to 75% subsidy for developing affordable housing solutions". The chamber said it is working on three projects, with a particular focus on "the development of micro-housing solutions for the high-quality, well-educated, single employees needed by many companies". Noting current legal obstacles regarding housing size, AMCHAM urged the government to take action "to allow us and others to create and make affordable 30m2 micro-housing units available for single occupancy usage". The chamber also called on the local and national authorities to "take accelerated actions to speed up the planning and approval process" to implement solutions more quickly.
Empowering citizens through education
In its letter, AMCHAM also emphasised the importance of education, through "both public and private sector education opportunities". The chamber stressed: "The strongest possible education system is key to empowering and giving the best chance to all inhabitants of Luxembourg to succeed". This applies also to residents seeking to "gain business-related skills". AMCHAM advocated "appropriate tax deductibility provisions for business and career education opportunities for both children and adults at all levels which will be lower cost alternatives as compared to public education schemes".
Enhanced English language adoption
In its final point, AMCHAM emphasised the important role of English as "the dominant international language", not least in the business world. The chamber said it encouraged newcomers to learn Luxembourg's three official languages (Luxembourgish, French and German) but "this takes time". It called for "further efforts to ensure English is a medium of communication for all governmental administrative activities", arguing that promoting wider fluency in and use of English would "make Luxembourg more welcoming for those we want to attract to live and work with us". The chamber also urged greater efforts to ensure students become even more fluent in English than is currently the case, in order to "prepare [them] to live and prosper in the current and future global world".
Paul Schonenberg concluded by thanking the Luxembourg Prime Minister for his attention, noting that he and his colleagues were open to further discussing these proposals.
The contents of the letter align with some of the subjects discussed during Prime Minister Frieden's recent State of the Nation address.
The AMCHAM Chairman and CEO also recently sent a letter to US President Donald Trump, emphasising the importance of the US-Luxembourg partnership. These initiatives are part of the chamber's ongoing efforts to advocate on behalf of its members.
