Constitutional Court: fourteen joined appeals against the capital gains tax

The Constitutional Court has joined fourteen new petitions for annulment directed against the law of April 6, 2026, “introducing a tax on capital gains on financial assets.” The information is published in the Belgian Official Gazette of November 10, 2026, p. 59938, under notice reference C − 2026/008158, in application of Article 74 of the special law of January 6, 1989. The cases, registered under docket numbers 8774, 8777, 8778, 8781 to 8789, 8792, and 8794, have been attached to three already pending cases.

Fourteen petitions, three waves of filing

The notice details the filing schedule with precision, which is divided into three distinct channels:

• seven petitions filed on October 6, 14, 18, and 19, 2026, via the Court’s electronic platform;
• two petitions sent by registered mail on October 19, 2026, received by the registry on October 20, 2026;
• five petitions filed on October 20 and 21, 2026, via the electronic platform.

This makes fourteen petitions in total, corresponding to the fourteen docket numbers listed. The notice is signed by the registrar Nicolas Dupont and published in Dutch, French, and German.

Private banks, major bancassurers, and the financial sector

Among the applicants are several leading financial institutions, alongside individuals and foundations:

• Delen Private Bank SA;
• the Belgian Federation of the Financial Sector ASBL (the sector federation, alongside BNP Paribas Fortis SA, ING Belgium SA, and Van De Put & Co Private Bankers SA, as well as Ben Granjé and Mark Van Pamel);
• four public utility foundations: the Marguerite-Marie Delacroix Support Fund, the Bernheim foundation, the Royal Philanthropy Society, and the Degroof Petercam Foundation;
• two foundations under Dutch law, Sandrose Foundation and Bravak, constituted as a “Stichting Administratiekantoor”;
• a series of individual applicants, including Andy Coomans, Andreas De Neve, Maxim Sergeant, Thomas Van Eeckhout, Jean-François Godefroy, Ignace Melkebeke, Sabine De Poortere, Olivier Kleynen, Pierre Kleynen, the Desmet family, Laurent Donnay de Casteau, Michel Maus, Alexander Delafonteyne, Hilde Callens, Anaïs Hoste, Michiel Hoste, the De Meestere family, Evrard Van Zuylen, Juliette Collinet, and Michel Verhaeghe De Naeyer.

The appeals seek a total or partial annulment of the law, published in the Belgian Official Gazette on April 21, 2026.

Litigation already structured around three dockets

The fourteen new cases join a core of three proceedings. Case 8748 had already been opened by a petition dated September 3, 2026, filed by Pascale Scheir, Catherine Bonami, and Bob De Kesel, which specifically challenges articles 3, b), 10, and 14 of the law; this appeal had itself been joined to cases 8663 and 8682. This previous joinder was the subject of notice C − 2026/007346, published in the Belgian Official Gazette on October 13, 2026. The proceedings now therefore comprise seventeen case numbers joined around the same text.

A discrepancy in versions deserves to be noted: the German version of notice C − 2026/008158 additionally mentions Alain Martin among the petitioners, whereas the Dutch and French versions do not cite him.

What the joinder changes for taxpayers

The joinder means that the Constitutional Court will investigate and rule by a single judgment on all the arguments directed against the law of April 6, 2026, which avoids scattered decisions on a tax affecting the savings and securities portfolios of a very large number of taxpayers. The proceedings remain pending: no suspension is announced in the notice, so the law continues to produce its effects. For financial sector operators as well as holders of family holdings or foundations, the tax calendar therefore remains unchanged until the judgment to be delivered.

Source: Belgian Official Gazette No. 256 of November 10, 2026, p. 59938, notice C − 2026/008158 (Constitutional Court, Article 74 of the special law of January 6, 1989).