2023-10-04 17:03:52
The wish in the House of Representatives to provide some additional support to purchasing power next year has been adjusted downwards. For example, the minimum wage and the associated state pension will increase by 1.2 percent next year instead of the previously proposed 1.7 percent.
The intended increase in the child-related budget has also been cancelled. Slightly more money will go towards increasing the childcare allowance. This amounts to a total of more than half a billion euros extra.
This is stated in a plan submitted on Wednesday by GroenLinks, PvdA, D66 and ChristenUnie.
The reason for the weakening is the disappointing coverage of the plans. The parties had expected 1.2 billion euros in additional income if companies’ share buybacks were taxed. But it turns out to be 800 million euros.
It has also been decided to raise a lot less money with a higher bank tax. Initially, initiator GroenLinks was talking about 350 million euros. But there was a lot of criticism about that.
According to the outgoing cabinet, this damages the business climate and the international competitive position of Dutch banks. Moreover, it would lead to higher lending costs for citizens and companies.
“We have now set that amount to 150 million euros instead of the previous 350 million,” said D66 MP Steven van Weyenberg during the debate on the purchasing power plans.
VVD fears the departure of companies from the Netherlands
The VVD was not in favor of the plan and still is not. VVD MP Eelco Heinen fears that banks will be “destabilized” by the higher taxes and that companies will be “driven abroad”.
Moreover, the number of people living in poverty does not change at all with the increase in the minimum wage, Heinen said. “What are the effects on poverty?”, the liberal asked about the proposed increase in the minimum wage.
But according to Van Weyenberg, this is a start. “It’s 1.2 percent again and this is how we do it step by step.” The government has already increased the minimum wage by 10 percent this year.
The full proposal, including the higher childcare allowance, costs almost 1.5 billion euros. That’s a lot, says Van Weyenberg. “I have never made such a major shift in the Financial Considerations,” said the D66 member, who has been in the House since 2012.
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