Flemish socialists press for ‘millionaire's tax’ as budget talks edge up a gear

The party campaigned on this proposal during the election campaign last year and are now dusting it off again.

In concrete terms, the ‘millionaire's contribution’ would be a progressive tax on Belgians with total financial assets of €1 million or more. Between €1 million and €2 million, the tax rate would be 0.30 per cent, between €2 million and €3 million 0.45 per cent, and above that 0.60 per cent.

Strongest shoulders must bear the heaviest burden

Since even before the election that brought them to power, the Flemish socialists have been arguing for a fair contribution from the “strongest shoulders”, the richest Belgians. The government is already introducing a capital gains tax from 2026 onwards. But that is not enough, Vooruit says.

‘Those who work pay half their wages in tax, while those with more than a million in their bank accounts pay virtually nothing. With our proposal, we will ensure that the richest 1% in our country finally make a fair contribution,’ says chairman Conner Rousseau. ‘This is important so that we don't have to make any cuts on pensions.’

‘I want to be honest and say that drafting next year’s budget will be difficult in many areas. It will be hard and we will have to deliver difficult messages. But I also want to say to the Flemish people that for us it is important that these efforts are distributed fairly,’ says Flemish socialist leader Rousseau.

Homes won’t count

In principle, the wealth tax involves an extension of the scope of the securities tax. The existing tax levies 0.15 per cent on securities deposited on accounts with over 1 million euros in assets in Belgium. But Vooruit now wants to extend the tax to all financial assets.

‘Products such as bearer-shares, savings accounts with huge deposits, certain insurance products and crypto savings, which are often not held in a securities account, their owners do not currently contribute,’ . Homes and other assets would not be hit. Vooruit wants the amount paid in securities tax to be deductible from the new wealth tax for natural persons.

1 billion for the budget

According to Vooruit, there are approximately only 95,000 Belgians with financial assets of more than 1 million euros. The party has calculated that the tax could generate 1 billion euros. This should help to close the budget shortfall.

The government is currently in talks on next year’s budget. Party representatives met for a first time on Monday to discuss this. In the coming weeks, the ministers will need to find between 8 and 10 billion euros to keep the budget deficit under control in the coming years.

‘Belgian compromise’

The chance that the millionaire’s tax will be introduced in the form proposed by Vooruit may seem slim. It doesn’t feature in the coalition agreement and PM De Wever’s Flemish nationalist N-VA and, in particular, the Francophone liberals of MR are lukewarm supporters of new taxes. ‘For our party, this is non-negotiable. There will be no new taxes; taxes must be reduced,’ MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez told VRT.

Vooruit has not yet presented its plan to its coalition partners. ‘There will be many predictable reactions,’ Mr Rousseau said. ‘But simply cutting costs is not an option.’

He predicts ‘a Belgian-style compromise’. ‘Everyone will have to make concessions. If the MR says it will make zero concessions, it is deceiving people. These are times of unprecedented hardship, and we must respond with unprecedented and powerful measures.’

Is the millionaire tax a sticking point for Vooruit in the upcoming negotiations? ‘Now you're really trying to provoke a crisis. It's an important point,’ says Mr Rousseau.