Pension savings spared and a new exit tax: the capital gains tax deal
After a night of negotiations, the federal government on Monday reached an agreement on how to introduce the capital gains tax on financial assets. The measure was particularly crucial for the socialists of Vooruit and was therefore linked to the party’s approval of other government reforms such as the time limit on unemployment benefits.
The broad outlines of the new capital gains tax were already included in the coalition agreement and these remain unchanged. The tax will be 10 per cent and will come into effect on 1 January 2026. It will be levied on financial assets and crypto. This includes shares, bonds, trackers and investment funds. It is now certain that pension savings and group insurance policies will not be affected. At cruising speed, the new regime should generate 500 million euros per year.
The capital gains tax does not apply to profits of up to 10,000 euros per person per year, an exemption that will be indexed annually. For those who wait to collect a capital gain of 10,000 euros, the exemption will increase by 1,000 euros per year for five years, up to a maximum of 15,000 euros - regardless of indexation.
For people who own more than 20 per cent of the shares in a company, an exemption of 1 million euros applies. This threshold of 20 per cent applies per person and cannot therefore be added up between, for example, family members or spouses. Associations and non-profit organisations that have government permission to receive tax-deductible donations – like charities – will be exempt from the tax.
"The government is trying to prevent people from moving abroad at the last minute to avoid paying the tax"
A possible way of avoiding capital gains tax, by shifting shares via intermediate holding companies, is countered by a separate levy of 33 percent on internal capital gains within company structures. The government also introduces an exit tax, whereby taxpayers who emigrate will still have to report on their financial assets and the capital gains on them for two years. In this way, the government is trying to prevent people from moving abroad at the last minute to avoid paying the tax.
Criticism opposition
MP Dieter Van Besien of opposition party Groen, the Flemish Greens, called the ambition to raise 500 million euros from the wealthiest group “painfully low”. According to Van Besien, the tax has turned out to be a “disappointment full of complicated exemptions”. “Simply put: the more you have, the greater the exemption you get,” he declared.
“The baker and the butcher will pay this tax"
According to the Flemish liberals of Open Vld, the tax will mainly affect the working middle class. “The baker and the butcher will pay this tax,” said Alexia Bertrand, the party's parliamentary group leader. “The original proposal has been shifted to the left, the De Wever government is bowing to the socialists,” she added.
Budget minister Vincent Van Peteghem, economy minister David Clarinval and prime minister Bart De Wever © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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