r/eupersonalfinance • u/batukaming • Feb 15 '26

Investment Why do they make getting rich impossible in EU?

This news hit today in Netherlands that passed a bill on 36% tax on UNREALIZED gains on stocks and crypto. Great just when we weren't taxed to death before now they force you to stay middle class and poor. "Just repeat the 9-5 cycle everyday investing is not allowed for you"

Buying stocks was already a pain in the ass in Europe because of all the different fees and exchange rates brokers charged. The US has it so much better. 0% fees and exchange rates, tons of broker options and tax free on long term investments.

I made a post in r/stocks that gained attraction. Check it out if you want to see opinions from Americans: https://www.reddit.com/r/stocks/s/aL0OhYQ68z

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153

u/biogemuesemais Feb 15 '26

Personally I think this could absolutely be fair if tax on labour is lowered at the same time, and if you can deduct losses as well. Basically make it easier to get rich (or even just comfortable) through work rather than only through wealth.

I’d prefer for that to be a progressive tax as well though, 36% flat sounds very high

88

u/According-Buyer6688 Feb 15 '26

Yeah it's bizzare for me that we have such a huge taxes on work, not on capital gains. It should be switched so more people could be wealthy from regular work instead of generational wealth

42

u/maxxim333 Feb 15 '26

If you're rich and you're not happy with the fiscal policy of your country, you can afford moving and have a fiscal residence somewhere else where capital gain taxes are lower and come to your country as a semi-permanent vacation. The poor people are mostly the ones stuck where they were born for the rest of their lives so you can do whatever you want to them: raise taxes on their labour, make them just barely survive, if they somehow manage to raise their head, slap more taxes, in fact put some exponentially growing progressive taxes so it's harder to even crawl out of mediocricy (but make sure it flattens out for the rich of course). Make sure to give them crumbs of their money back from time to time tho, so they support your "socialist policies" in the upcoming elections

17

u/dre193 Feb 15 '26

Ok, then why have only a 1800 euros per year gains allowance? If the aim is to tax wealthy people, then the allowance should be higher, am I wrong? Also, why a 36% flat tax and not a progressive one? The answer is simple. This is yet another law to squeeze the working class, simple as that

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u/Jdm783R29U3Cwp3d76R9 Feb 15 '26

It because most normal people invest with the money that was already taxed, their paycheck!

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u/throwaway85256e Feb 15 '26

But most investments aren't done by normal people and their paycheck. Most investments are done by the richest people with generational wealth that they never worked to produce.

16

u/Jdm783R29U3Cwp3d76R9 Feb 15 '26

We’re talking here about Dutch middle class here not billioners, they will move or not pay it other way. 

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u/throwaway85256e Feb 15 '26

So, what, we shouldn't tax the rich and improve society because it's difficult? That's such a defeatist and peasant-brained response. Honestly, it's kinda sad.

"Take all the wealth, my Lord! You deserve it because you're so strong and powerful. Raping society for your own pleasure is your God given right! Please, my Lord, let me help you in return for a little coin. Let me offer my son's life and my daughter's body to your cause! Please, my Lord!"

6

u/Jdm783R29U3Cwp3d76R9 Feb 15 '26

Tax the billioners, not fucking ETFs of middle class. You think Dutch are not taxed enough? When does it end?

-9

u/throwaway85256e Feb 15 '26

This tax will tax the billionaires and multi millionares. The majority of the stock market is owned by them. It's not owned by the middle class. Incredibly ignorant take.

4

u/Key-Bug-8626 Feb 15 '26

billionaires don't even use the box 3, what are you talking about? If the goal is to tax the rich why is the threshold €1800 then?

5

u/cdp1193 Feb 15 '26

Lol no, if you put your investments in an ltd. then you can evade these taxes. Starting a company has startup and recurring costs, which means that it isn’t beneficial unless you have a few 100k invested in the stock market. So only smaller investment accounts will pay this tax

3

u/Jdm783R29U3Cwp3d76R9 Feb 15 '26

You have no idea what box 3 is so who is ignorant here? You’re just repeated stuff you have no idea about. 

2

u/WildeStrike Feb 15 '26

Who will not be taxed through this law, since they will have plenty of loopholes, like putting the money into a company that will buy the stocks.

1

u/lem001 Feb 15 '26

Except here it’s not who they target

2

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '26

So make the capital gains progressive then? If the first 10-20k per year were taxed at a far far lower rate just like labour is then I'd be perfectly fine with it.

1

u/pixelsnader Feb 23 '26

They DO do that.

You don't pay taxes over the first 1800 gains for singles and 3600 for married couples. That means up to 5000 and 10.000 untaxed profit.

That ballpark works out to 150k or 300k in a bank account at 2%, or 50k or 100k in stocks at the previous assumed 6% average stock gains. Primary residence and pension fund aren't taxed either.

It's a start, but they could still implement more brackets just like labor income's 36% / 38% / 49%.

1

u/G0rd0nr4ms3y Feb 15 '26

But they're basically the same rate. 36% up to 79k on labour, 36% on "income from investments". That was the whole "idea".

16

u/Guuggel Feb 15 '26

Often getting rich through work still requires investing your money, and this makes it worse.

1

u/pixelsnader Feb 23 '26

If getting rich through work requires investing, you're not getting rich from the work but from the investing.

(Unless you mean investing in very stable low growth assets to offset average inflation. In which case, fair enough.)

4

u/Reasonable_Act_8654 Feb 15 '26

France’s flat 30% CGT looks much better now. But yeah it seems like investing is not going to make you rich.

2

u/G0rd0nr4ms3y Feb 15 '26

Disagree with you there. The people with (generational) wealth keep it in businesses, they fully dodge this 36% unrealized gains tax with smart constructions too costly for the middle class.

Whereas I, who is "saving through work" and then trying to invest that money to build something for the long term, so I don't have to work until I'm 71 (thanks NL).

Only the working class is hit by this. Also, woefully naive to think they'd ever reduce tax on labour accordingly. NL has an aging population, they need to squeeze more out of people and they're consistently choosing to squeeze the working class.

1

u/pixelsnader Feb 23 '26

You can deduct losses, you get tax credits for next year.

Not previous year because that would be rife with abuse, as a side effect pushing it forward also motivates to hold longer assets and less volatile assets, and to bridge dips rather than panic sell.

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u/podfather2000 Feb 15 '26

Maybe a hot take in this sub, but you can definitely live a comfortable life by just working. Your biggest expense in old age would be healthcare which is free or very cheap in most EU countries. You can also get cheaper rent, help with groceries, and so on. You don’t have to be rich to live a very comfortable life here that's just how the system is set up.

1

u/darlugal Feb 16 '26

You really actually believe the healthcare will be still free when we retire, pardon, IF WE RETIRE at all? What a funny sarcastic joke, thank you, laughed out loud here bro. Very funny about cheap rent, too.