In the industrialized world, the burden weighing on work is nowhere as high as in our country, according to the annual report on the wages of the OECD national organization. For a single person receiving an average salary, a little more than half is devoted to taxes and social contributions.
Main information
- In no other OECD country, a single worker (childless) is as heavily taxed as in Belgium. A single person with an average income sees 52.7 percent of his salary disappear in the boxes of the state.
- Belgium is also the only OECD country where the wage bill (for single workers without children) exceeds the 50 percent mark.
- Bi-active workers with two children with an average income must pay 36.9 percent of their state income.
Context : The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) calculates the wage corner for each of its member countries: the difference between the costs of the work paid by the employer and the net salary left by the employee.
- This is the sum of employer and salary contributions and the income tax of natural persons, which indicates the burden on work.
In the news: Belgium remains the world champion in labor taxation, the OECD report tells us.
- For a single worker with an average salary, the Belgian tax corner on labor amounted to 52.6 percent last year. This is a slight improvement compared to 2023. At the time, 52.7 percent of income disappeared in the boxes of the Belgian state.
- The OECD considers that the average salary of a worker, before taxes and contributions, amounts to 60,841 euros per year.
- Belgium is also the only OECD country where the wage corner (for singles without children) exceeds the 50 percent mark. Germany (47.9 percent) and France (47.2 percent) complete the top trio of countries where the cost of labor is the highest. The average of OECD countries is 34.9 percent. If we limit ourselves to European countries, this figure amounts to 41.7 percent.
- As in previous years, Colombia is distinguished by a 0 percent wage corner (for singles and couples).
Families with children are less heavily taxed
Note: For 25 years, our country has been at the top of the list of countries where the tax burden on labor has been the highest.
- For six of the eight types of family analyzed by the OECD this year, the Belgian wage bill is at the top of the list. It is only for isolated parents and couples with children with a single income that it is not the case.
- Couples with two income with two children, for example, must sell 36.9 percent of their state income. It is only in France (39.1 percent), Turkey (39 percent), Finland (38.1 percent) and Greece (37.3 percent) that these households pay even higher taxes. The average of OECD countries is 25.7 percent.
- The annual OECD study confirms (once again) that singles have a hard life in our country on the tax level. The notable difference between singles and families is partly due to what is called the conjugal quotient. This system is reserved for married couples and legal cohabitants. With the conjugal quotient system, up to 30 percent of professional income – with a maximum of 13,460 euros – are fictitiously allocated to the other partner. Thus, part of the income disappears from the highest tax rates in the partner who earns the most and is imposed at lower rates in the other.
- More : The coalition agreement stipulates that Arizona parties want to reduce the marital quotient by 2029. The adjustment only applies to non-retirees. “For retirees, we plan a long -term extinction scenario,” said the agreement.
- In addition, a tax reform should reduce the tax burden of all the working Belgians. This is in particular an increase in the exempt tax allowance, a reduction in the special social security subscription and a strengthening of the social work bonus.
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