Wages taxed highest in Belgium

Nowhere is labour taxed more than in Belgium, a ranking by the OECD shows. For the first time in years, the tax burden on wages in Belgium is also increasing.

For 21 years, the OECD has been ranking the so-called tax wedge, or the difference between the labour costs to the employer and the corresponding net take-home pay of the employee. All these years, Belgium has been at the top of the ranking.

For a single person without children with an average wage, the tax burden amounted to 52.6 percent in Belgium last year. Germany and Austria are at number two and three with 48.1 and 47.8 percent respectively.

For a family of double earners with children, the tax burden was 45.2 per cent in Belgium in 2021. Germany (40.9) and France (40.9) follow in second and third place for this category.

For the first time in years, the tax burden in Belgium is also increasing, by 0.4 percentage points for single person households and by 0.6 percentage points for families.

(KR)

© AFP PHOTO ERIC PIERMONT