Belgium
| Category | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rank | 23 | 61.6 |
| Corporate Taxes | 15 | 63.77 |
| Individual Taxes | 11 | 73.74 |
| Consumption Taxes | 30 | 59.6 |
| Property Taxes | 30 | 45.21 |
| Crossborder Taxes | 18 | 77.86 |
Belgium ranks 23rd overall on the 2021 International Tax Competitiveness Index, four spots worse than in 2020.
Strengths
- Belgium has a broad tax treaty network, with 95 countries, and a territorial tax system as it fully exempts foreign-sourced dividends and capital gains without any country limitations.
- Capital gains resulting from normal management of private wealth are exempt from tax.
- Belgium provides an allowance for corporate equity (ACE) to address the debt bias that is inherent to the standard corporate income tax.
Weaknesses
- The corporate rate of 25 percent is slightly above average among OECD countries (22.9 percent).
- Belgium levies an estate tax and a financial transaction tax and introduced a new annual tax on securities accounts.
- The Belgian tax wedge on labor is the highest among the OECD countries, with the average single worker facing a tax burden of 51.5 percent.
Learn more about the tax system in Belgium