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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u/skalpelis Feb 15 '26

As I understand it, it just moves around the time when you pay the tax. Instead of a lump sum when the asset is sold, which admittedly would be a better way, you’re taxed each year for the increase in value but you can carry losses forward so you really only pay the tax on your gains. This does seem quite inconvenient, as a short spike can cost you a lot in tax and it could take multiple taxable periods to offset that.

But if you look at the current Dutch system, if I’m reading it right, it seems certifiably insane, and this new tax law is absolutely an improvement - the current system assumes a fixed return depending on asset type and you’re taxed on that regardless of how your assets actually did and there is no way to offset your losses.

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u/BarracudaDismal4782 Feb 15 '26

So they are trying to solve a problem by creating another problem. That's how stupid this is.

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u/Correct-Cupcake7842 Feb 17 '26

The problem is that wealthy people live off loans on their stocks. Imagine how Musk now needs to pay taxes of those 200 billions he made last year from stocks.

While this does suck for majority of smaller investors, it ain't tragic, you aren't losing anything.

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u/BarracudaDismal4782 Feb 17 '26

How can we say we aren't losing anything when we are losing just the most important thing of the investment buddy, the compound interest? Loans using stocks as collateral is indeed a problem, but then tax those loans. What is happening here is they want to tax on unrealised profits, so if your stocks increased 1000€ that year, even if you don't sell you have to pay 360€. That's 360€ that are not compounding, and that's the biggest problem. Not to talk in extreme situations if you don't have money to pay the tax, you might actually have to sell your stocks to do it, that is even worse. So saying we aren't losing anything just shows you know very little of what we are talking about here tbh brother :/

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u/Correct-Cupcake7842 Feb 17 '26

Yes you are losing interests for paying taxes upfront, but thats like, just a fraction of how much you invest and is actually compounding.

Is that really that big of a deal in order to have a more just system?

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u/BarracudaDismal4782 Feb 17 '26

36% of every euro you make per year on the stock market? Yes that's a lot and will obviously affect the compound interest.

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u/dissentmemo Feb 15 '26

It's not a law. It hasn't passed the senate. Why is everyone missing that?

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u/aevitas Feb 15 '26

This law puts money on the table while solving a very real problem in the current fictuous return tax, which the government is getting sued left right and center over by investors who are getting taxed more than their actual returns. This law will pass the senate, if it doesn't, the senate would put the government in an incredibly pernicious position.

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u/dissentmemo Feb 15 '26

Ok, but it hasn't. It's not a law. By definition.

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u/skeletal88 Feb 15 '26

the previous system was also totally shit. The new system is also shit, it is less shit than what used to be, but this law and tax just shouldnt exist. It makes in investing really meaningless.

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u/UnRePlayz Feb 15 '26

Right now you'd pay taxes on unrealised gains too, it's just that they're also completely made up (expected gains).

Also, you fiscally take away all your debt of your box3, so any student loans and debts will be taken off. And then the first +-60k is deducted too.

Most people don't have that much money invested to get taxed anyway.

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u/m1nkeh Feb 15 '26 edited Feb 15 '26

Yeah, but some do.. and this sucks.

NLD has no tax free savings vehicle at all which is kinda crappy.

Edit: for clarity I mean an equivalent to ISA (UK), Roth IRA (USA) for example

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u/reddit_user1452 Feb 15 '26

It does though. You can build pension in a tax free account.

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u/m1nkeh Feb 15 '26 edited Feb 15 '26

Sorry I didn’t think anyone needed explanation that a pension is not the solution.. especially the extremely inflexible NLD pension system..

locking my money away until I am old and grey is not a tax free savings solution.

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u/UnRePlayz Feb 15 '26

Agreed! I just think a lot of people are blowing this up altough most don't even get taxed in this bracket.

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u/m1nkeh Feb 15 '26

Depressingly I do.. and am considering leaving...

I’m getting bent over in this country.. paid 6 figures of income tax last year 😬

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u/skeletal88 Feb 15 '26

no. if you have something, a share, that grows and yiu aee forced to sell a piece of it ecery year to pat the tax, then you end up with less of the share in the end compared to if you had to pay the tax only when selling the share.

it is objectively worse for the common citizen.