According to the new law, the tax threshold for the wealth tax is increased from EUR800,000 to EUR1.3 million for 2011.

From 2012, the wealth tax will comprise of only two tax brackets: a 0.25% tax rate imposed on individuals with net taxable wealth in excess of EUR1.3 million and a 0.5% tax rate levied on individuals with net taxable assets above euro 3 million.

Earlier there were six different brackets ranging from 0.55% to 1.8%.

The new two-bracket scale is actually a proportional scale for the entire assets of a taxpayer, with the rate depending on the amount of the taxpayer’s net worth.

As per the new law, taxpayers with net worth of less than EUR3 million will not have to file a complete wealth tax return; instead, their individual income tax returns will report their worldwide net taxable assets.