Dutch tax talks: BBB leader sees ‘some movement’ but demands nitrogen changes

BBB leader Henk Vermeer says he sees “some movement” in the Dutch government’s tax plan after talks with Prime Minister Rob Jetten and Finance Minister Eelco Heinen, but his party has made support conditional on changes to the government’s nitrogen policy.

Vermeer, parliamentary leader of the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB), said after the meeting in The Hague that there had been no movement on nitrogen. He declined to discuss the tax talks in detail.

He said negotiations were only now really beginning and described himself as having “mixed feelings”: he would have liked a quicker result, but experience in The Hague showed that pressure could make positions more flexible. Vermeer said he still saw value in pursuing a deal with right-wing parties.

The BBB plans to put forward its own proposal on nitrogen and the tax plan in the coming days. Vermeer did not say what the proposal would contain.