According to this same study, the tax rate of the average employee has been stable since the “tax shift”, a measure driven in 2012 by the DI Rupo government and taken over by government Michel, to succeed in 2016. This budgetary project has considerably reduced the cost of labor in Belgium. “Compared to 2013, when the tax pressure was at the highest of the 15 years covered by this study, the Belgians celebrate the” day of tax release “20 days earlier and benefit from € 10,519 (on average, editor’s note) more purchasing power. ” Today, employers spend € 217 to offer their employees € 100 in purchasing power, compared to € 252 in 2013.
The main lessons
But, according to figures from this study, the “real tax rate” of a Belgian average employee is still slightly increased. It is 54.5 %this year (against 44.3 %in the EU), while last year, this tax pressure on the average employee was 53.5 %.
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If we are interested in the composition of this tax rate, in Belgium, employer and employee contributions represent 55 % of the tax and social pressure on a single single employee without children. Income tax represents 39 % and VAT 6 % of the entire tax burden in 2025.
“The figures show that Belgium is still among the countries with the highest tax burden on work, but they also illustrate the positive effects of previous reforms such as Tax Shift. Significant progress has already been made. At the same time, there remains a margin to further reduce the gap between the cost of labor and net income. New structural reforms can contribute to a job market for employers and attractive for workers.“, Analysis Hendrik Serruys, EY partner and tax consultant.