Dutch VVD rejects PRO and Volt proposal for €1.5bn wealth-tax rise

The Netherlands’ VVD will not support a proposal by opposition parties PRO and Volt to raise an extra €1.5 billion in tax from wealthy people and business owners, MP Wendy van Eijk said during a debate on next year’s tax plan.

Van Eijk also said she did not expect the other coalition parties to back the amendment “in its current form”. She has previously argued that the proposal conflicts with the coalition agreement.

PRO leader Jesse Klaver said earlier on Tuesday that he had not ruled out changing the plan after the debate if it lacked sufficient support. The proposal would use the additional revenue to benefit people in work.

D66 MP Henk-Jan Oosterhuis described some of the amendments in the tax debate as “rather rough”, while welcoming opposition parties’ willingness to engage. CDA MP Inge van Dijk said she could not support the proposal as it stood, calling it too far-reaching and too much.