Hard-working Dutchman pays the rent – Jub

The hard-working Dutchman has many self-styled patrons. The reality is that the middle class is paying a lot of money. The Netherlands has become a rentier country. Roaring rhetoric and real policy are far apart. The Senate could prevent this by protecting the working middle class from unfair tax burdens.

It sounds like something straight out of America: the richer you are, the less tax you pay. Not anymore. The Netherlands has become a rentier country: in recent years ‘capital’ pays less and less tax and working people pay more.

In all types of areas, one euro income is taxed quite differently than other euro income. Hidden behind complicated tax plans, debates about it are hard to follow and rarely discussed on talk shows. But that is unfair because the impact is huge. We all remember when the Rutte III cabinet tried to quietly abolish the dividend tax. Fortunately, it failed — ultimately due to massive media attention — but gradually other fixes to our tax system have created a cradle for big bucks carried by working people.

Payroll tax is significantly higher than the European average. The Netherlands is the only country in Europe where tax revenue on income from property is negative. A technical, but common example: an employee pays up to 11.6 percentage points more tax at the top rate than a director-general shareholder (DGA). They show that income from property can be taxed without money disappearing across borders – just like income from work – in all European countries.

This unfair taxation is not only a bone of Dutch tax morale, but also an incentive to work. Although we in the Netherlands face huge labor shortages in key sectors such as healthcare, education, construction and technology, our tax policy mainly encourages passive wealth and money creation without contributing anything to the Netherlands. To give work say Right-wing parties, but the real policy is different.

This pampering of big bucks attracts whole groups of fast guys. There are restrictions on TikTok or Instagram Paddle influencers to find out. They don’t talk about “passive income”: making money from money. They and their followers have a better understanding of how our tax system works. “Losers work and winners retire”.

A low tax burden on capital looks attractive if you look at it through straws. But in taxation the advantage of one is the disadvantage of the other. Report by Edith Schippers in an interview with nu.nlI’m all for low taxes. Of everything!” Concerned about the national budget. Free beer for all. It’s reminiscent of Liz Truss’ economic folly ‘mini-budget’, which derailed the British economy in no time.

A rigorous evaluation of the Senate’s tax proposals is therefore urgently needed. This cabinet does not have a majority now, probably after the election. Let’s keep it that way. The Cabinet is going to send a large number of tax bills to the Senate. As far as we are concerned, one thing is important in this assessment: is capital or income taxed more?

Mei Li Vos is the leader of the PvdA in the Senate
Randy Martens is fourth on the PvdA list of Senate candidates

After the Senate elections, the parties PvdA and GroenLinks will form a group together.