Belgium Announces New Wages, Other Developments, Effective From November
- Belgium's personal income tax reform takes effect in November, affecting the monthly take-home pay of most employees across the country
- A new €2 handling fee on parcels from outside the EU adds to existing import charges introduced in July, targeting the surge in packages from China
- Wallonia introduces burial-in-a-body-bag rules and allows people to be interred alongside cremated pets from this month
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A series of new rules came into force in Belgium in November, touching everything from monthly pay and parcel imports to vehicle regulations, healthcare, and burial options.
This is as countries across the world are adjusting their system to address the realities of economic challenges around the world.
Source: Getty Images
What changes to expect on your payslip
The Brussels Times reported that two pieces of legislation, the Personal Income Tax Reform Act of 15 July and the Royal Decree on withholding tax of 27 September, have altered how much tax employers deduct from gross pay each month. For many workers, the result will be a small change in their net pay from November onwards.
The tax-free allowance, meaning the slice of income on which no tax is due, rises for all employees. HR firm Liantis calculated this translates to an extra €8.47 per month in take-home pay. However, the marriage allowance for couples where one partner earns little or no income will be gradually cut by half, with the maximum dropping from €13,790 to €11,780 by 2026.
Parents will also notice a shift. The tax-free allowance for dependent children has been made uniform across the board. For a first child, this means a slight gain of about €5 per month, but from the second child onwards, the change will reduce parents' net pay.
Parcels, vehicles, and energy bills
Shoppers ordering goods from outside the European Union now face an additional €2 handling fee on top of the €3 import duty that has applied since July to parcels worth less than €150. The charge covers all products regardless of value and is designed to fund customs monitoring. In 2024, 4.6 billion small parcels entered Belgium, with 91% coming from China. By 2025, that figure had climbed to 5.8 billion. Importers are liable for the fee but may pass the cost to consumers.
Drivers who ignore a court-imposed driving ban will now face vehicle seizure under a new law. Magistrates are required to order the forfeiture of the car, which then passes to the state and is sold at public auction. An exception applies when the vehicle is not owned by the offending driver, such as a company or leased car. A separate penalty for those cases is still being developed.
Electric and hydrogen-powered vans weighing up to 4.25 tonnes will now be treated the same as standard 3.5-tonne vans under amendments to the Highway Code, allowing them to carry equivalent loads and follow the same road sign rules.
Roughly 50 energy-intensive companies, including BASF and Nyrstar, qualify for a 50% to 70% reduction in electricity grid tariffs from November through to 2027, at a projected cost of €130 to €160 million annually. To avoid higher bills for households and small businesses, excise duties on electricity will be cut and surplus funds from grid operator Elia will be used. Final approval from energy regulator CREG was expected on Thursday.
Healthcare and burial reforms
Midwives may now charge patients a co-payment for certain insured services, up to €2.50 for postnatal care in the first five days after birth and up to €4.25 for antenatal care from the sixth day onwards. The charge is optional and does not apply to deliveries, injections, or supplies provided during labour.
Tetraplegic and paraplegic patients can now access reimbursed 60-minute physiotherapy sessions, up to 100 per calendar year, following an update to the list of treatments for severe conditions by the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (Inami).
In Wallonia, residents may now choose burial in a biodegradable body bag or shroud in open ground, provided the material allows for natural decomposition within five years. People may also opt to be buried alongside their cremated pet. Both options have been available in Flanders for some time.
Finally, the vaccination schedule for French-speaking infants in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation has been updated. The hexavalent vaccine, which covers poliomyelitis, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and hepatitis B, has been reduced from four doses to three, now given at two, four, and 12 months. The final dose of the PCV13 pneumococcal vaccine has also been moved from 12 to 15 months to avoid multiple simultaneous injections.
Source: Getty Images
Singapore launches $70,000 child support package
Legit.ng earlier reported that Singapore's government has announced it will provide every Singaporean child with close to $70,000 in direct financial support from birth through age 17, in one of the country's most significant overhauls of family assistance in recent years.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong unveiled the SG Child Support Package during his National Day Rally speech on August 23, as reported by the Straits Times on August 23.
Source: Legit.ng
