Since the second round of parliamentary elections in France on July 7, which resulted in a relative majority for the left-wing alliance, bankers in the neighboring kingdom have been receiving more and more inquiries from potential tax relocation candidates.
Since the second round of parliamentary elections in France on July 7, which resulted in a relative majority for the left-wing alliance, bankers in the neighboring kingdom have been receiving more and more inquiries from potential tax relocation candidates.
Belgians are wondering if they should expect a fresh influx of “tax exiles” in Brussels, given the unexpected victory of the Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) left-wing alliance in the second round of France’s July 7 parliamentary elections. “I’m not at liberty to say anything except that during the past week, I’ve been consulted a lot by wealthy French people who are once again considering expatriation,” said the manager of a Brussels bank, a subsidiary of a French group, on Friday, July 12. Like two of his colleagues, a private banker and the director of a large real estate agency, he “naturally” refused to provide any names and preferred to remain anonymous.
On Wednesday, July 10, the business daily L’Echo ran the headline: “French elections boost tax exile in Belgium.” Over the years, those who crossed the border to protect their wealth either slowly assimilated or headed back.
Those who stayed still live in Brussels’ high-end districts: Uccle, Ixelles and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, where they drove up property prices and attracted numerous local businesses. Others decided to return to the country they left in 1995-1997, when Alain Juppé, then Prime Minister, sought to alter the wealth tax (ISF), or in 2012, when François Hollande, then Socialist candidate in the presidential election, announced a plan to implement a 75% tax rate for those earning over €1 million.
Read also the article in Le Monde, where Denis-Emmanuel Philippe was quoted
