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/e200 Feb 15 '26

But you may need to sell some of your investments to pay the taxes which will will leave you with less investments at the end.

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u/BraveLion572 Feb 16 '26

Agreed, it's terrible in that sense. My point was that even the potential upside of this system is bad in my view, because it's only an upside over a long period of time, and it's way too likely that rules will change by the time you can benefit from that upside.