New Belgian Cabinet Proposes Tax on Share and Cryptocurrency Capital Gains

The government agreement of the newly formed 'Arizona' coalition in Belgium proposes a fiscal measure that imposes a 10 percent tax, or solidarity tax, on the realised added value of shares, trackers, funds, bonds and cryptocurrencies. This measure has caused a lot of controversy. In order not to burden smaller investors excessively, the tax is only levied on capital gains from 10.000 euros.

This is reported by KPMG in an overview of all announced fiscal measures of the new cabinet. The new government, led by Prime Minister Bart de Wever, is also known as the Arizona coalition, named after the colors of the coalition parties that correspond to the colors in the flag of the American state.

Some other tax measures that are not expected to come into effect until 2026 at the earliest include:

– The liquidation reserve and VVPRbis system
– The conversion of the DBI regime (the Belgian participation exemption) into a DBI exemption
– A new exit tax for legal entities
– The increase in the minimum wage for SME managers to qualify for the reduced corporate tax rate
– The increase in the investment deduction
– The introduction of a digital tax
– The increase in the tax-free allowance for expats

A complete overview can be found on the KPMG website.

Another intention of the new coalition is to abolish the fines for innocent mistakes in tax returns, made in good faith. However, the Court of Appeal in Antwerp recently ruled that the Belgian tax authorities are not allowed to make such mistakes. mag fined, according to the Flemish business newspaper De Tijd.

At the end of November, the Constitutional Court ruled that the tax authorities do not automatically have to impose a fine for such errors. This ruling seemed to clear the way for individuals and companies to reclaim the fines. However, the Court of Appeal in Antwerp has ruled in two cases against the tax authorities that fines of 10 percent are not contrary to the law.

According to the Court of Appeal, the fine is also lawful if there is no malicious intent. However, the Arizona parties have promised in their government program to abolish these fines after an innocent false declaration. "A 10 percent tax increase will no longer be applied for good faith violations or administrative omissions," according to the coalition agreement.

Anyone who deliberately makes mistakes can still expect a penalty.