Jetten warns Dutch tax plan defeat could cost billions

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten has left further changes to the government’s tax plan to the House of Representatives, where MPs can now amend the package. The plan still lacks a majority, and the government says it cannot submit another revised proposal.

The cabinet sent a revised package to the House on Tuesday after extensive negotiations. Jetten said the House had room to steer the plan through amendments, adding that parliament holds the authority to set the budget.

The debate has exposed divisions over how to raise more revenue. Opposition parties PRO and Volt want to add a tax on millionaires. D66 was willing to discuss the proposal, but VVD MP Wendy van Eijk said it was “unthinkable” that coalition parties would vote for it.

The House is due to vote on the tax plan on 12 November. Earlier negotiations over the plan have also centred on tax relief and how wealth should be taxed.

Update

Jetten told MPs during a debate on Wednesday that the government would miss out on nearly €2 billion in 2027 if the plan were voted down, rising to €6.1 billion in 2028, Dutch news agency ANP reported. He put the structural loss in subsequent years at €9 billion.

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the package on 12 November. ANP reported that it was likely to pass the lower house with support from the ChristenUnie, 50PLUS and Group Markuszower. But Group Markuszower, made up of former members of the PVV, has no senators, leaving support in the upper house uncertain.

Jetten said the cabinet could not put forward another revised proposal and that MPs should now suggest amendments. The government had already revised the plan after negotiations with opposition parties.

Differences remain over how to change it. PRO and Volt want a tax on millionaires; coalition party D66 was willing to discuss the idea, but its partner the VVD said it was unthinkable that coalition parties would support the proposal, ANP reported.