Jetten keeps door open for higher capital tax, VVD opposes
Jetten does not rule out a higher tax on assets, despite opposition from the VVD. Moreover, the tax plan does not yet have a majority.
The tax on capital and company profits may increase further in the Netherlands. Prime Minister Rob Jetten does not rule out the proposal of PRO and Volt, despite strong objections from coalition partner VVD.
The political division is creating new uncertainty about the tax plan, for which the government has still not found a majority.
PRO and Volt want to tax assets and company profits more heavily. With the additional income, the parties want to reduce taxes for workers.
The VVD is strongly opposed. During the tax debate on Wednesday evening, MP Wendy van Eijk even called it ‘unthinkable’ that coalition parties D66 and CDA would agree to the proposal. According to her, a higher tax on capital and profits is contrary to the coalition agreement.
Nevertheless, Prime Minister Jetten does not see this as a definitive blockade. According to him, the coalition parties must assess the content of the proposal and weigh up the consequences for political cooperation themselves.
This leaves the possibility that D66 and CDA support a tax proposal that the VVD opposes. This is striking, because the three parties together form the minority cabinet.
The division within the coalition creates uncertainty among the opposition. It is unclear whether D66, VVD and CDA will continue to work together or whether opposition parties can make separate agreements with, for example, D66 and CDA.
The government still does not have a majority for its tax plan. After weeks of negotiations, the government presented an amended proposal on Tuesday, but that still has insufficient support.
Prime Minister Jetten therefore leaves further changes to the House of Representatives. Members of parliament can propose adjustments themselves, for example to tax assets and company profits more heavily. The government does not intend to come up with an amended tax package again.
Next week, the House of Representatives will vote on the measures. With the support of the ChristenUnie, 50PLUS and the Markuszower Group, the government could gather enough votes.
This means that the tax plan is not yet final. The Senate must also agree, and the situation is more complicated there. The Markuszower Group has no seats in the Senate, so the Cabinet has to look for other parties for a majority.