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Belgium is second most-taxed country in EU
Belgium has overtaken Denmark to become the second most-taxed country in the EU after France, new data from Eurostat reveals.
The annual study is based on the sum of taxes and social contributions paid in 2017, relative to each country's gross domestic product.
After France on 48.4%, Belgium comes second with a tax burden last year of 47.3% - up from 46.7% in the previous year.
Denmark slips from second to third place, with a tax burden of 46.5%. According to Eurostat, the EU average last year was 40.2% - up from 39.9% in 2016.
A spokesman for prime minister Charles Michel's MR party said it was true that Belgium's tax burden increased last year, but it has fallen since 2014 and 2015, when Belgium was ranked the most taxed country in the European Union.
The increase in tax revenue last year is partly due to better collection of corporate tax, the MR spokesman added.
Comments
The French may be slightly higher taxed, but at least French consumers can go to supermarkets and benefit from competitive pricing. Unlike Belgian consumers who encounter exactly the same price for exactly the same item in every single supermarket chain. Even Aldi aligns its prices of name-brand products to make sure they are not competing against the Belgian supermarkets. And naturally prices in France are much lower, often dramatically lower for everyday items. Germans also pay much less for food and other supermarket items. The same applies to other services such as car insurance, internet providers, mobile phone services etc. Sadly they are still country-related so anyone living in Belgium is stuck with Belgian prices, which are of course much higher. And also virtually non-competitive.