MEP and Les Engagés leader, Yvan Verougstraete, announced on Tuesday the submission of a written question to the European Commission concerning the low taxes paid by Meta in Belgium in 2025.
According to the company's annual results for Facebook Belgium, filed on 3 July with the National Bank of Belgium (NBB), the Meta group, which notably operates Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, paid €917,489 in taxes on its profits in 2025, compared to €1.899 million a year earlier.
The company's turnover, for its part, decreased from €109.575 million to €103.633 million between 2024 and 2025. However, an analysis conducted by digital consultant Xavier Degraux, based on data from the Belgian advertising market provided by DataReporter, indicates that the actual turnover could be three to four times higher.
This discrepancy is explained by the fact that the purchase of advertising spaces is handled through an online agency invoicing from Ireland, where taxation is more favourable to Meta.
Yvan Verougstraete denounces this practice. In a statement, he criticises the possibility for multinationals to choose their tax jurisdiction.
"A small or medium-sized enterprise, whether Belgian, French, or from anywhere else, cannot choose the country in which it pays its taxes. Why should a multinational selling advertising to that same SME still be able to do so?" he questions.
Through his question to the European Commission, the centrist elected official calls for an assessment of the loss of tax revenues for member states related to the recording of income in other jurisdictions.
He also advocates for greater harmonisation of taxation and proposes rules to ensure that profits are more heavily taxed in the countries where economic value is created.
