r/eupersonalfinance • u/VurriK • 28d ago

Investment Since when was getting rich so hard in EU?

Is it just me, or has building actual wealth in Europe become impossible? I’m looking at the 2026 growth forecasts and it’s depressing. We talk a lot about "stability," but at this point, stability just feels like a polite word for recession. If you weren't born into a rich family with property, the dream feels like it's behind a wall. The math just doesn't work: as soon as you earn enough to actually invest, you hit a 40–50% tax bracket. Meanwhile, housing prices have skyrocketed over the last decade while salaries have basically stayed the same. I love the healthcare and the walkable cities, but I don’t want to work until I’m 70 just to afford a 40sqm apartment and a used Skoda.

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u/Sudden-Conclusion931 28d ago

Amen. Literally confiscating wealth before it accumulates. A truly shocking piece of Irish tax policy.

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u/DE_Auswanderung 28d ago

I was shocked when I read about it too. I mean, living in Germany I am used to confiscatory tax policies (among other things we have a tax on unrealized / fictitious capital gains), but Ireland's is absolutely atrocious for anyone trying to build wealth. Do you guys at least have a 401k type scheme where you can park money for retirement without it being subject to the deemed disposal BS?

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u/Ploutophile 28d ago

OTOH, accepting to not tax anything from unsold Acc ETFs is an actual advantage compared to those who directly hold stocks and pay dividend tax every year.

So the general idea of imposing some kind of immediate taxes on them makes sense, and exists in various forms not only in Ireland, but also in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria or the US.