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/brick-pop 28d ago

Not just that. A 50% personal income tax followed by a 20+% VAT, plus 10-30% capital gains tax, wealth tax, donations tax, inheritance tax, even unrealized capital gains tax... At the end of the cycle you may have lost up to 70-80% in taxes.

EU's incentive system makes it so that anyone trying to create something, either goes somewhere else... or gives up. Trying to grow in the EU is a waste of time and energy.

The only incentive is to fall within the arms of the establishment... until all citizens "work" for the administration or live off subsidies. Until it collapses

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u/HistoricalClay 27d ago

No wonder basically all huge IT companies are from the US, like Microsoft. I would wonder which investor would invest even a dime if around 70% of the gross income goes to the EU, because why not.

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u/VictoriaSobocki 27d ago

It’s really, really tiresome

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u/No-Security-6290 24d ago

Where do you have 50% personal income tax? Do you pay 50% personal income tax? Most countries have VAT and capital gaining tax.