What does the De Wever government's Easter Agreement mean for your business?
May 2025 - On 11 April 2025, through the so-called Easter Agreement, the federal De Wever government proposed a package of tax and social reforms that could have a direct impact on entrepreneurs. What are the main fiscal and social measures, and what can they mean concretely for your SME?
Fiscal measures: more breathing space, but also new conditions
The first significant change is reduced employer contributions on low and middle wages. This reduces labour costs for companies. For high wages, a cap on contributions will be introduced, which helps reduce additional costs.
The planned tightening of the DBI (Definitively Taxed Income) deduction - where the threshold for tax exemption would rise from EUR 2.5 million to EUR 4 million - will not be implemented. However, there is now a condition that the investment must be a financial fixed asset, meaning that there must be a sustainable link with the company. In addition, an additional 5 per cent levy on capital gains from FDI funds will be introduced. Also, the favourable regime will only apply if the company pays a minimum managerial remuneration, which is particularly relevant for management companies and SMEs.
For the self-employed, there is good news: the tax credit on equity increase will be doubled from 10 to 20 per cent. The maximum amount increases along with it from EUR 3,750 to EUR 7,500, including the refundable balance.
Fund managers get tax legal certainty as carried interest will henceforth be taxed at 25 per cent as movable income.
There will also be a new regularisation round for undeclared capital, but a first mistake in the declaration without bad faith will no longer automatically lead to a tax increase. The return deadlines will be simplified: three years as standard, four years for complexity and seven years for fraud (previously 10 years).
The Central Contact Point (CAP) will get additional powers, including anonymous data mining and adding crypto accounts to the system.
Finally, the Easter Agreement confirms some previously announced measures, such as the reduction of the waiting period for the liquidation reserve for the self-employed, making permanent the reduced VAT rate of 6 per cent for demolition and reconstruction, higher tax thresholds for student work, the abolition of the federal interest deduction for a second residence and a longer transitional period for tax breaks on hybrid cars.
Social measures: stricter rules and additional costs
On the social front, there are stricter rules around unemployment. From 2026, benefits will stop after two years, except for over-55s with enough career years or those retraining for bottleneck professions in care and education. The artist status will remain, but will be more strictly controlled to prevent abuse.
For long-term sick employees, there will be an extra cost for employers: they will also have to contribute during the second and third month of illness. In addition, sickness certificates will be more tightly controlled - they can still be valid for up to three months on a first certificate - and sick employees will be obliged to visit an employment doctor or mediator. Those who do not cooperate can lose up to 10 per cent of their benefits, compared to 2.5 per cent previously.
There are also changes on the pension front. Gross pensions above EUR 5,250 per month will only receive a limited or flat-rate indexation (maximum EUR 36 per month). The solidarity contribution on supplementary pensions above 150,000 euro will be increased and the Wijninckx contribution will rise from 3 to 12.5 per cent.
What does this mean concretely for you as an entrepreneur?
The reduction in wage costs can give your company breathing space to hire new people or make additional investments. At the same time, it is important to organise the remuneration of company managers correctly in order to continue enjoying tax benefits. Also keep in mind that tax audits and deadlines are becoming stricter, and good preparation is essential. For self-employed entrepreneurs, the increased tax credit is also a great opportunity to build up extra equity with a tax boost.
