2023-11-27 05:50:00
Portugal is not part of the top 10 destinations with the most Belgian expatriates. But that doesn’t mean that this country doesn’t attract hundreds of Belgians every year. In just over 10 years, we went from around 1,000 compatriots living in Portugal to more than 6,000. The sun attracts Belgians, as does purchasing power, without forgetting some tax advantages which will soon end.
According to figures published in Le Vif, even the country’s capital, Lisbon offers a cost of living 30% lower than that of Brussels and 45% lower than that of London, for example. In terms of taxation, a system allowed expatriates to pay no (or almost no) tax once settled there. A system which should end in the coming months is in all a desire of the government in place, but the details of which we do not yet know.
End of the tax advantage for the purchase of a second home
And if we have observed an explosion in expatriations since Covid-19, it is not only for purchasing power and the sun. The security aspect also seems to play a role. In 2023, the Global Peace Index ranking places Portugal in seventh place among the safest countries in the world. Life is more peaceful there, and we can imagine that the management of the health crisis – when Portugal was one of the least “contaminated” countries in Europe – has remained in the memories of expatriates, often pensioners.
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