It's only high for regular income. Belgium does not have a capital gains tax. If you start a company, it does well, and you sell it, you pay zero taxes.

Similarly, when you receive stock options after joining a company, you get taxed immediately, but you don't pay taxes when you exercise them. That's really backwards when you join an established company (because you'll pay taxes on something that might actually be worth nothing), but it's fantastic when you receive stock options in an early stage startup, with options that are worth pennies.

> It's only high for regular income

That's almost everyone? :P

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Ethical hackers aren't companies that will sell their company here.

I don't know any company who gives stock options here, it's not a thing.

Dividends gets taxed at 30%.

If you get a bonus from work for delivering, taxes are normally so high that the bonus looks low.

What you're saying is basically: it's great when you're rich.

FYI: dividends in the US count as regular income. For higher incomes, they get taxed significantly higher than 30%…

I thought it was pretty obvious from my comment that the Belgian tax system is very favorable for businesses and their owners…

For businesses and selling yes.

This has a very high risk of your associate your business with your private life in case of bankruptcy ( to pay less taxes).

Additionally, i know an owner that put his wife as boss instead of him for tax reasons. So tax optimalisation is very very complex here, another disadvantage.

And stock options of your own firm to employees still needs RSZ contributions.

So that's expensive too

Are tax rates the most important factor for relocating to somewhere? Might want to look at what you get in return for those taxes.

Weather ain't great either.

You're getting a lot back if you're unemployed and actual Belgian though.

Some people aren't even working because the difference between working and not, is too low.

And if you're ill, you don't have to worry about finance too...

That's it

It's even worse. At minimum wage, the cost of commuting and daycare are more than the diff of work and unemployment.

So what's enticing those people to go back to work if it literally costs them money?

And I don't mean to say that unemployment must go down. On the contrary, at minimum, it must be beneficial to go to work. So minimum wage must go up.

Problem is that then unemployment will go up too, as that is tied to minimum wage.

Unemployment benefits shouldn't be unlimited in time.

For the rest, i agree.