There has been a rise in wealthy French citizens speaking to Belgian banks about a possible move to Belgium in order to avoid paying tax, L'Echo reports, following the French left-wing alliance's surprise victory in last week’s election.
A mixture of progressive forces (from social democrats to greens and radical leftists), under the name New Popular Front, surpassed all expectations by beating both Macron’s ruling centrist bloc and the insurgent far-right National Rally, which had been predicted to win.
Now, there is rising interest among wealthy French citizens for a possible move to Belgium to avoid new tax measures brought in by a possible left-leaning government, according to Belgian bankers who spoke to L'Echo this week.
From these conversations, it is emerging that Belgium's tax system once again could be attracting wealthier French taxpayers 'worried' about the possibility of paying more tax in their home country.
While the new French government has not yet been formed, given that none of the electoral coalitions won an outright majority, it is likely to influence the direction of French politics in the months to come. This is leading certain French citizens to enquire about the possibility of expatriating to Belgium in order to avoid the possible tightening of taxation for securities under a future left-wing government.
"Our wealth management department has received several requests for information", explains a major Belgian bank, which confirms an upsurge in questions from French citizens.
(Don't) tax the rich?
Existing French clients have asked bank managers if they can pass on the details of their wealth manager to other members of their family or to friends living in France, the bank added, which asked to remain anonymous given the increasingly strict rules aimed at countering tax evasion and tax avoidance.
"In some respects, Belgium remains a mini-tax haven for the French", continues this tax expert, "particularly in terms of the exemption of capital gains on shares, the tax-free status of certain life insurance products, the low taxation of rents, the possibility of realising tax-free capital gains on property, and the vast possibilities for estate and inheritance planning."
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and President of France Emmanuel Macron talk to the press after a meeting between the Belgian Prime Minister and French President, Tuesday 01 December 2020 in Paris, France. Credit: Belga / Benoit Doppagne
According to L'Echo, it is not just the ultra wealthy who are looking into a move, but also upper-middle class families and owners of small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). With the government yet to be formed, bank managers stressed that no concrete action had been taken despite the many queries coming from across the border.
Belgium experienced a wave of tax exiles coming from France between 2005 and 2010, but the flow lessened considerably from 2015. Among these, Gerard Depardieu, caused a large media storm after announcing he would move his residence to a small town in Belgium, just over the French border, to avoid higher taxation under the François Hollande (PS) government.
For the 2024 elections, both the Socialist Party (PS) and Belgian Workers Party (PTB-PVDA) had campaigned on taxing the ultra-rich as well as multinationals, but neither party secured enough votes to join the Federal Government.
According estimates from the National Bank of Belgium (NBB), unveiled in January, the richest 10% of Belgians own more than half (55%) of the net wealth of households, while half the population, the 50% least wealthy, share less than a tenth (8.4%).
