Vacation is time is a perfect time to write a blog post. This time we discuss Tax Liberation Day or Tax Freedom Day and why you should take your financial future in your own hands.

1. Tax Freedom Day

Tax Freedom Day is very controversy concept that leaves no room for discussion.

Tax Freedom Day® is THE day when the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay its total tax bill for the year. Tax Freedom Day takes all federal, state, and local taxes and divides them by the nation’s income. In 2019, Americans will pay $3.42 trillion in federal taxes and $1.86 trillion in state and local taxes, for a total tax bill of $5.29 trillion, or 29 percent of national income. This year in 2019, Tax Freedom Day falls on April 16, or 105 days into the year. In Belgium that day is 15th of July 2019.

Belgian workers celebrate their “Tax Liberation Day” 24 days earlier than they did in 2013 and enjoy nearly 4 000€ more in annual net pay, according to the 10th edition of The Tax Burden of Typical Workers in the EU. The French and Austrians must work 4 additional days to earn enough for their taxes.

Using a consistent methodology across all countries, the data reflect the tax realities experienced by real, working people. 2019’s Tax Liberation Days are as follows:

Taxes

The continuing implementation of the Michel government’s “tax shift” have significantly reduced the cost of hiring employees in Belgium (where unemployment is at its lowest rate since the inception of the study), however they have had little impact on workers’ buying power.

 

Taxes

Key findings – Belgium

• After being the most expensive employees in the EU for several years, Belgians are now the 5th-most expensive to hire (after Luxembourgers, Austrians, the Dutch, and Germans) – yet Belgians still rank 9th in take-home pay.
• An employer in Belgium spends 2.01€ for a typical worker to net 1€ after taxes – down from a peak of 2.34€ in 2013.
• A Belgian employee’s “real tax rate” (including VAT) is now 53.6%, compared to an EU average of 44.5%
• The Belgian government collects 29,326€ from a typical Belgian worker’s wages (before VAT) –the 2nd highest figure in Europe– yet it does not deliver services at this level. Among EU countries, Belgium ranks

  1. 5th in the 2017 Health Consumer Powerhouse rankings of health care systems
  2. 10th in reading, 9th in Science, and 6th in mathematics in the OECD’s PISA rankings of educational systems
  3. 11th in the 2018 United Nations’ World Happiness Report

The study, by James Rogers and Cécile Philippe of Institut économique Molinari, uses OECD and national statistics office salary figures for as a baseline. Payroll tax calculations are made by EY.

2. Why you must LEARN how to Invest and Trade

So basically we are working more than half a year for the Belgian government. The government as above outlined does NOT deliver the BEST QUALITY services for the money that the taxpayer pays. Basically the taxpayer is always paying for the OVERSPENDING expenses that a government or failed politicians have done. Each politician has an EXPIRATION DATE…they can’t be re-elected or the public doesn’t like him or her anymore. A citizen can’t spend more than his salary or he soon will be broke. A government can continue to overspend and ask more money from the taxpayer…

So the government will ask more and more taxes in different ways… That is a simple FACT ! Also the last government had little impact on peoples’ buying power.

My Why 1 : Invest continuously in Financial Literacy Skills

The decline of the long term interest rates has made it very hard for investors to find an asset that gives a return higher than inflation. An investment that yields you more than the 2% inflation.

Bond investors have seen really bad returns as the ECB continues her zero interest rate policy. Central banks gave the signal that they want to lower the interest rates more if the economy doesn’t improve nor inflation increases. So people who save money on a savings account, won’t see any better returns either. This can continue for the next 10 years. If you invest in a government bond or save money on a savings account, you ARE LOSING MONEY.

Finding an investment that gives you more than 2% per year, requires learning how to invest. Learning how an ETF tracker works that follows an index, a sector or commodity such as gold, silver or palladium.

The MSCI World as world index gives you the highest diversification and gives you a net return of 1,75%. An European Stoxx600 ETF gave you 2,66% net. Learn how to invest in holdings, REIT, Dividend Aristocrats and many more assets.

Learning how to invest insures YOU DO NOT LOSE PURCHASE POWER !! Or do you like losing money ? Read my retirement plan blog post if you want to know what financial literacy skills I want to master like a PRO.

My Why 2 : Trading is Fun !  

Investing or Trading, what is the difference ? Actually there is not so much difference to my opinion. You simply learn how to generate cash out of the stock market on a shorter time frame. 95% of the traders fail, that’s what the statistics say. Actually there are only two reasons for that fact. It is called mindset and risk management. If you can’t control your emotions, you will simply fail. If you can’t manage your risk, you will simply fail.

So far my learning journey on trading stocks, options or forex has been fun ! Some trading strategies don’t fit my personality. Others made me a better investor and trader. I always learn something. Each mentor session makes me a better investor and trader. It’s all about learning a skill. You respect the process and success will follow.

3. Final Words

Each person decides his own path in life. Bill Gates said it clearly  in the following quote. Do what you are passionate about but never complain to me that you don’t have ANY money. How much time you spend on social media such as Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat ? How many series you follow on Netflix as otherwise you can’t talk about it at the kitchen table with your colleagues at work? Sorry but it all depends on YOUR attitude and mindset. I have seen people make 1 million $ from 500$. Real MONEY ! So don’t tell me you can NOT do it. It all starts with the right mindset and persistence.

This is the end of this blog post.

In 2019 we will send out ONE newsletter per month to our blog followers. Life can be busy sometimes and people lose track of following a personal finance and travel blog. Subscribe and you will get one email per month highlighting what you missed…

I realize I haven’t send out any newsletter yet but will try to do so going forward. If you haven’t confirmed your email address, you won’t receive the newsletter.

Thanks for following us on Twitter and Facebook and reading this blog post. We end with a quote as always.

Source : Brussels Express

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