Search in our news section

As was already announced - the dividend withholding tax legislation will be amended on a number of points, being an extension of dividend withholding tax to basically also apply to cooperatives. The dividend withholding tax exemption is to be expanded to include tax treaties with non-EU/EEA countries. The proposal also contains specific rules on interest held in Dutch BV's/NVs or holding cooperatives through hybrid entities. Finally, an anti-abuse provision will be added.

On Budget Day (Prinsjesdag), 19 September 2017 a package of tax measures have been presented as part of the budget for the coming year. Below we outline the measures relating to VAT.

Chinese companies with expats in the Netherlands (and vice versa) will have a decrease in costs because the Social Security Treaty between the Netherlands and China ('the Treaty') enters into force, no double social security premiums have to be paid for these expats. Chinese companies only have to pay social security premiums for basic old age and unemployment for expats in the Netherlands. Conversely, only Dutch social security premiums for old-age, pension (AOW), survivors (ANW) and unemployment (WW) are due for expats in China.

On 10 July 2017 the State Secretary of Finance provided a letter to Dutch parliament in which he indicated that an internet consultation has been opened for a draft bill. The draft bill has been prepared in order to implement ATAD 1, which Directive was approved by the EU member states in June 2016, an EU directive that provides for a minimum harmonisation against tax avoidance.

On 31 March of this year, the legislative proposal for the implementation of the obligation for maintaining a central register with information about the final stakeholders (also called the ultimate beneficial owner, hereinafter 'UBO') of companies founded in the Netherlands, and other legal persons, was published. The obligation of such a central register derives from the European directive 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for money laundering or terrorist financing (PbEU 2-15, L 141, hereinafter 'directive').

Would you like to position your business (further) on the international market, but you need fiscal or legal support to do so? With a knowledge voucher it is possible to obtain a compensation for hiring an international lawyer, tax specialist or tax advisor.

The ultimate deadline for the filing of the financial statements with the Chamber of Commerce has been changed and is now 1 January (before 31 January). This applies as from the bookyear 2016. 

In 2013 the OECD and G20 governments started the BEPS project (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) with an ambitious goal. The goal was to revise the tax rules to align them to developments in world economy and ensure that profits are taxed where economic activities are. As a result, the OECD/G20 BEPS project set out 15 actions in the 2015 BEPS Report to achieve this goal.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employments had adjusted salary criteria for highly skilled migrants by ministerial regulation. This adjustment will have effect as of 1 January 2017.

With the end of the year rapidly approaching, now is a good time to verify whether any actions have to be taken immediately or can be postponed which can result in a benefit for you as an employer.