might move to Belgium from USA, question about taxes

Be careful with that. You'll get a resident card by virtue of being married to an EU citizen regardless of whether or not the citizen works for an EU institution here.  I am not sure the tax free status applies to spousal income from private sources (whether from Belgium, elsewhere in Europe or the USA). But check it out with the agency offering the job to your spouse.

And it's not THAT bad working and paying taxes here. Yes, the taxes are high and they don't seem to be a very efficient government for all that....but neither is the US and there you really get absolutely nothing for what you pay in tax.

That's true, I would strongly advise getting clarification first but if you kept your business out of Belgium I doubt that the EC will double tax it. It wouldn't be tax free.

And yes, that's true you would be able to settle in Europe anyway but it is a much easier process within an organisation, you get a different residency permit which is essentially the same thing, you don't have to swap your drivers license, etc, etc and you wont be reporting to the Belgian authorities unless you choose to earn an income here.

I work at an EU institution with an American spouse. Basically we could choose if he'd get a spcial ID (it just means you'e not in the ordenary Belgian register), or thenormal Belgian residence card. With the special card, you can't work in Belgium. You can't get a Belgian health insurance, unless you declare that you have no income at all (obviously untrue) in which case you woul be covered by the EU health scheme.

Since my husband works as an employee in the Belgian private sector, we had to choose the normal Belgian resident card, he gets the Belgian health insurence (very good, and cheaper in lots of cases than the EU one). As notd above, he still has to file US tax returns on top of the Belgian one,but usually we don't have to pay anything.

One more thing, it may be difficult to "keep your business in the US" even if you work remotely. If you provide services physically from the EU, you may become liable to charge Belgian VAT on your services. So check these things carefully with an accountant (the Amercian Chamber of Commerce in Brussels) should be able to put you in contact with one to determine what is the optimal set up for you. Good luck!  

If you are only here for a few years like myself, check to see if you will be tax equalized.  My husband is; his employer pays the difference b/w US and Belgian taxes.  

I'm going to say this as politely as possible, given that some people on this site react very sensitively to criticism of Brussels. But...rather than obsess about taxes, you may want to make sure you are familiar with the city *before* deciding to move here. Your description of PA sounds awfully familiar. I think this place is comparable to cities like Philadelphia or even Baltimore. I'm European, have also lived in the US, and have been completely shocked by the (low) quality of life here. Naively assumed the "capital of Europe" couldn't be that bad. Be sure to check the place out before you make a decision ....a job with the EU may sound too tempting to turn down, but just make sure you know what it truly entails!

@litesp, if you think the infrastructure is broken in PA, you will not be pleased with what you find here. And Brussels is not clean, not pretty, and the weather sucks! The health care here is what I would consider as "adequate," with limited state-of-the-art practices. For day to day stuff, ok but I dread ever getting seriously ill here. You could work in the black here--keep your business in the US, invoice from the US, but you can never access that money from Europe or you may have the gov't asking a lot of questions. Not an easy way to live. If you are coming for a set period of time, say 3-5 years, then go for the adventure. If you are planning to come to stay, you will miss the easy way of life in the US. The inconvenience here is really frustrating. Yes, Belgium is a great in terms of being close to so many other European countries, but there is not much else to make it worth moving here forever.

Hi, my post seems to have vanished, so here is a re-cap. I just wanted to urge you to check out Brussels before making a decision (if you have not done so already-- day visits don't count!). Taxes may seem important, and working for the EU may sound to good to pass up, but you and your wife may be surprised to see what it is like to live here. I am European, and made certain assumptions about the "capital of Europe" that turned out to be naive and way off-point. Having also lived in the US, I'd compare this city to Baltimore. Suffice it to say that your description of the infrastructure in PA also sounds painfully familiar! Just something to think about...

Don't get me wrong. living in Europe is a major pain in the butt compared to living in the US in many ways. Don't even get me started on the retail sector here. I agree that taxes are not necessarily your major issue and as I wrote in my first post, if you do declare your income here, and you do set yourself up with a good accountant and manage things smartly, I highly doubt you will end up paying 50+ precent in tax. On the other hand, there are many plusses to living here versus the USA. It's all about what you value, and checking out the city first is sound advice.