Yeşilgöz says Dutch tax-plan talks took longer than necessary

Dutch finance minister Eelco Heinen said the tax plan still needs to be changed to address MPs’ demands. Speaking at the start of the second day of parliament’s general financial deliberations, he said he understood why parties wanted revisions and would outline possible solutions later in the debate. [1]

Opposition parties JA21 and PRO said on Wednesday that they did not intend to support the plan in its current form. Both object to planned higher taxes for working people, but they disagree about the alternatives. [1]

Heinen said he remained optimistic that a parliamentary majority would vote for the tax plan this autumn. He had not yet set out his proposed solutions when he spoke. [1]

Update

In remarks reported by the Dutch news agency ANP on 2 October, Yeşilgöz complained of what she called noise, image-making and commotion around the tax plan, saying it had made for a difficult week. [2]

Despite concessions to opposition parties on both the left and right, a parliamentary majority was not yet in sight, ANP reported. Yeşilgöz said she believed a majority was possible and wanted support to be as broad as possible. [2]

She said some VVD supporters feared a left-wing agenda of tax rises, but insisted such increases were not under consideration. She cited proposals to address the box 3 tax, lower air passenger tax and reduce excise duty. [2]

How some of the measures would be funded remains unclear. Yeşilgöz acknowledged that other parties had raised valid criticisms of parts of the plan and said those points would be addressed. [2]

Update

Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz says talks on the 2027 tax plan lasted longer than necessary, as the proposal moves through parliament with a possible majority in the House of Representatives but no assurance yet of support in the Senate.

“There are good things” in the plan, Yeşilgöz said, while acknowledging that parties were not “100 per cent” satisfied. “It is not 100 per cent what I would have wanted either.”

She said there was a prospect of a majority in the House and that she hoped one could also be found in the Senate. Questions about how the VVD will vote were referred to the party’s parliamentary leader, Ruben Brekelmans.

The House is due to resume its debate on the plan on 10 November, with votes scheduled for 12 November. The legislation needs approval in both chambers before the government can implement it from the start of 2027.