Last update 6 September 2022

General context of Budget Day 2022


One of the main challenges for the government is the need to have additional income for the funding of expenditures related to inter alia the COVID-19 pandemic and due to the increase of prices for basic necessities among which energy and groceries.

In respect of the latter development, on 1 July 2022 the Dutch government sent a letter to parliament addressing the possible taxation of so-called excessive profits of (investors in) energy companies in order to compensate households for the increase of the energy prices. The government acknowledges that it will not be easy to introduce such a windfall tax ('solidariteitsheffing') or to increase the rate of the specific mining levies for oil and gas producers. For a more elaborate summary of the letter regarding the taxation of energy companies we refer to our website post of 26 August 2022.

Based on leaked information in the media, we understand that the government intends to increase the specific mining levies by EUR 2 billion as of 2023 as part of its plans to restore purchasing power.

An alternative option described in the letter would be the increase of the corporate income tax rate for all taxpayers. Based on the leaked information, the tax rate in this first bracket is expected to be increased from 15% to 19% as of 2023. This in addition to the already announced reduction of the first bracket from EUR 395,000 to EUR 200,000. The Dutch government does note however that an attractive business and investment climate must be taken into account, including a stable tax policy.

Another development that has the attention of the government is the wealth inequality. The government will give its appreciation of the outcome of a recent published report on this topic as well as its appreciation on the outcome of the evaluation of the business succession schemes on Budget Day 2022. In designing a new wealth taxation system the desired wealth equalization might play a role. Other measures aimed at wealth equalization, for instance an amendment of the tax deductibility of certain donations, might be considered. It is not certain whether and to what extent such measures will already be included in the Tax Plans 2023.

Following leaked plans to restore the purchase power, it is expected that the box 3 rate will, starting 2023, be increased in steps from 31% to 34%.

Apart from these more general developments, below we will first describe some of the measures, partly also forming part of the Coalition Agreement and/or the Spring Budget, that might be included in the Tax Plans 2023. In a separate paragraph we describe a number of national tax measures that are still pending and for some of which concrete tax proposals are expected in the first half of 2023.

Other tax developments


Reinforcement of action against dividend stripping

On 15 July 2022, the state secretary sent a letter to parliament about possible measures to strengthen the approach to dividend stripping. In this letter, the results of the internet consultation last winter were summarised. The government will now investigate a combination of one or more additional measures based on some of the alternatives described in the consultation round. This investigation will also take the outcome of a currently ongoing Supreme Court case into account. In addition, the letter states that the government has received signals that pension funds are involved in dividend stripping and that it is possible that an additional measure will be taken that will exclusively target pension funds that engage in dividend stripping. Any measures will be introduced as of 2024 at the earliest.

Entity classification rules

In 2021, the Netherlands proposed to overhaul its tax classification rules for Dutch and foreign entities (such as partnerships) with certain legislative proposals (see our tax flash of 30 March 2021). The state secretary now intends to submit the legislative proposal in the second quarter of 2023 with an envisaged entry into force per 1 January 2024. 

Conduit companies

In 2021, the Committee on Conduit Companies presented its advisory report to the Dutch government with six fiscal and nine non-fiscal policy options to prevent the abusive use of conduit companies (see our tax flash of 23 November 2021). The state secretary noted that the underlying policy objectives are expected to be met by the proposed EU Shell Directive. For this reason, no unilateral measures are expected.

Fiscal investment institutions

A report evaluating the rules for Dutch fiscal investment institutions ('fiscale beleggingsinstellingen') and exempt investments institutions ('vrijgestelde beleggingsinstellingen') was published on 7 July 2022. In the report, various alterations to these investment regimes are described. The government is studying this report and will respond to parliament and provide its policy intentions after the summer.

Final note

We would like to stress that the changes mentioned are only a selection and still intentions only. We will inform you as soon as possible on or directly after Budget Day 2022 about the final Tax Plans 2023 and other developments. You can visit our Budget Day 2022 page below. We strive to do our utmost to keep you informed on this webpage and via other communication sources on all developments.