Owners of a second home on the coast have often gone to court against the municipal tax, because they have to pay a so-called ‘second home tax’. Own residents do not have to pay additional personal tax.
The Court of Appeal of Ghent has previously ruled that the tax on second homes in Knokke-Heist and the West Flemish provincial tax are contrary to the principle of equality. Now the court of first instance in Bruges also rules that this is the case in De Panne.
The ruling does not mean that the tax will disappear unless the municipalities themselves adjust their tax rules.