Search Q&A
Starting you own business in Brussels: is it worth the trouble?
My wife is thinking about starting her own business in Brussels. We know already how high taxation rates can be for employees, so we guess it will be about the same level of taxation or more. In case she decides to set up her own company, we wonder if it is worth all the hassle. The impression we get is that Belgian and Brussels authorities are not especially prone to make the life of (new) entrepreneurs easy, specially after having read stories like the one on AirBnB (see the thread entitled Airbnb complaints, started by Mikek1300gt) or Uber. I know those are very particular types of businesses, but it is quite telling how authorities and established actors are reacting to them.
As far as the level of taxation for companies is concerned, I guess it depends on the sort of business and turnover. Can someone confirm?
I have been doing a bit of research, and it seems that BECI has a Guichet d’Entreprises, a one stop shop to set up a company in no time (http://www.beci.be/services/je_cree_ma_societe/guichet_d_entreprises/). Does anyone have any experience with that?
And, last but not least, do you have your own company here? How does it feel to be a foreigner and being confronted with Belgian administration as a your own business' manager?
Thanks in advance!
I was told if I worked my spouse benefits would vanish from my husbands contract like health care etc so I need to earn quite a lot to make it pay so check that out first
I recently set up as independent with the help of an accountant and via Acerta (no notaire), the whole thing was done within 2 days. Hubby lost around 350€ per month in spousal support, so factor that in. I pay 1.500 per quarter for social security on top of tax, which will probably be around 45% of earnings. I can deduct (parts of) phone and electricity bills plus you get sent loads of catalogs for office supplies etc. Taxes are high, true, but we chose to live here and like it so will keep calm and carry on.
No one can really answer this without knowing the type of business she wants to set up, and the type of business expenses that she'll be able to deduct. Otherwise all this talk of taxes and stuff is basically meaningless.
Thousands of very successful businesses exist in Belgium. If you have capital, Belgium is actually a very attractive tax haven (which is why some of the richest people in the world are resident here), but if you set up a company without the right advice and without knowing what you're doing, then it's almost a given that you'll end up in difficulties within 3 years.
Setting up a company here is not really all that much more difficult than say the U.K. and the guichet d'entreprise here are actually very helpful. I've actually set up multiple companies in both systems.
However, don't take my advice, or do this without speaking with a professional advisor. A couple of hundred spent now on legal and tax advice will potentially save you thousands later.
Hi!
I'm a foreigner here in Belgium and recently started up my own business.
I was advised to not start a company but rather start as Personne Physique/Indépendante for the time being. Although the process to get everything up and running wasn't always easy, I felt that there is actually quite a bit of help available, there are even services available such as the FJE (Fondation pour Jeunes Entreprises) which provide guidance and advice for free, to new entrepreneurs. They helped with a lot of the preparatory part of things and have now provided me with a mentor to guide me through the first months/year of business! I think there are several such services available, depending on the region you're in.
Dealing with the authorities isn't always fast or easy, but again it depends on the area you're living/working in and the type of request. In general I found everything to be mostly positive!
I can't provide much insight with regards to the taxation part of things so someone else can probably be more helpful on that front.
With regards to the BCE, myself I went through Securex, who took care of that particular part of the formalities and a good bit of the admin.
Overall, I quite enjoyed the process of setting everything up, a lot of it thanks to the guidance and support that was provided, for free (which is amazing!).
Best of luck to your wife!!
Pages