Childless single members of the workforce pay more taxes in Belgium than in any other OECD countries, according to “Tax burden on wages in 2015”, a report published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on Tuesday. Belgium also has the second highest tax wedge for households with one earner and 2 children. In Belgium, the tax wedge (total taxes paid by employees and employers after family allowance is deducted) is the highest in the OECD zone for a childless single employee. If such a person earns the median wage, the tax wedge reaches 55.6%, whereas the OECD average is 36%. Between 2000 and 2014, the tax wedge for single employees earning a median wage decreased by 1.5%.
With an income representing 67% of the median wage, OECD estimates the Belgian tax wedge to be 49.9%, 0.2% less than in the 2013 report published by the European commission last June.
For single-salary (average wage) homes with 2 children, only Greece (43.4%) comes in in front of Belgium's 40.6%.
(Source: Belga)
