The autumn budget, aiming to boost “equality of opportunity” and create a secure future for the most vulnerable in Dutch society, will cost most taxpayers a little more, according to experts. The so-called “bill for millions” or miljoenennota will impact all individual taxpayers, particularly the highest-paid employees, thanks to a raft of new and expected measures. “Tax will be raised for people with normal and high incomes, so this will probably not be to their benefit,” said a spokesman for...
The Dutch are gearing up for the polls in November. Our regular columnist Molly Quell wonders how much of a shock it will be when Mark Rutte is not the winner. When now-caretaker prime minister Mark Rutte first assumed office in 2010, the iPad was just six months old. The Wikileaks revelations were only three months old. Instagram had its first post only days before Rutte swore his oath. If you’re a Dutch voter under the age of 35, you’ve
Financial shares took a big hit in Amsterdam on Friday following parliament’s vote in favour of an extra tax on bank profits during this week’s debate on the budget. MPs say the tax would pay for some of the measures aimed at shoring up spending power for low income households. They have also mooted the introduction of a new tax on share buybacks. Both measures, while backed by the current parliament, will probably be up to the new administration, with
Electronic goods chain BCC has been declared bankrupt due to the rising cost of staff, energy and rent. The chain’s 1000 strong workforce were told about the bankruptcy on Thursday via an internal e-mail seen by broadcaster NOS. Curators told staff the shops, some 50 in total, will remain open for the time being to increase the chances of a relaunch. BCC, which is part of the Mirage Retail group which also owns Blokker, has been battling “persistent and increasingly
There is a direct link between emissions from the Tata Steel plant in IJmuiden and the health of people who live in the locality, the public health institute RIVM said in a new report on Friday. In addition, the biggest benefit to the health of people living in the IJmond region would be to reduce the exposure to pollution from Tata Steel, the RIVM said. The claim is based on a string of reports on the link between emissions from the plant
Some 80% of the Dutch have contact with other family members at least once a week and there is no difference in this between the generations, according to new research by national statistics office CBS. But while 69% of pensioners have contact with their neighbours at least once a week, only four in 10 of the under-35s did so. One fifth of the over-65s had some form of exchange with the people living close by on a daily basis, the
Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep up our stocks of stroopwafels and orange tompouces? Click here to become a Patreon backer Prinsjesdag, the ceremonial presentation of the annual accounts, went down with a whimper rather than a bang, as well as plenty of bells and whistles for the royal household. Sigrid Kaag delivered a caretaker budget of minor tweaks ahead of a debate that failed to ignite the election campaign but covered plenty of ground, from the moon
The International Criminal Court, the world’s war crimes tribunal, was hit by a cyber attack earlier this week and is still not back up and running after the incident. The court announced in a statement on Tuesday that it had “detected anomalous activity affecting its information systems.” The website was briefly down on Sunday and staff members still do not have access to email or other software systems. It’s unclear what, if any, information was compromised in the hack. The
A Dutch MEP wants the EU to take on Big Tech and force it to implement measures to make their internet platforms less addictive. “Food, alcohol and tobacco are already subject to strict rules to protect our health. Addiction caused by the design of internet services cannot be exempt,” Kim van Sparrentak, who has drawn up the plan told the Parool. Apps like Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, X and TikTok are like “one-armed bandits” Van Sparrentak said, designed to keep users
The number of young asylum seekers without parents at the Ter Apel registration centre in Groningen topped 350 earlier this week, almost seven times the number the location is equipped to deal with, settlement agency COA said. Formally, just 55 unaccompanied minors should be put up at Ter Apel, in a separate part of the camp with extra security. A number of youngsters were transferred to adult accommodation because of the lack of space, COA said. “We are looking at
New measures backed by MPs in two days of debate on the caretaker government’s spending plans have added almost €4 billion to the budget, the Financieele Dagblad said on Friday. MPs voted to freeze petrol taxes at their current level, increase the minimum wage, cut energy taxes and put more money into public transport, on top of the €2 billion package put forward by the cabinet to reduce poverty on Tuesday. At least half of the cost will be passed on to industry,
House prices in the Netherlands rose marginally again in August and are now just 4.8% down on a year ago, national statistics agency CBS said on Friday. The 0.6% month on month increase in July means prices have risen slightly for the past three months. The CBS statistics are based on completed transactions and lag behind figures published by estate agents organisation NVM which said in July prices had risen 2.8% in the second quarter. Land registry figures also show