Publication of the Tax System Study Committee’s report 

In the 2010 Budget, the Cabinet reported that it had commissioned a Study Group to carry out a preliminary study into the possible, budget-neutral modernization of the tax system. The reasons for the preliminary study were the current desire for stability in tax revenues, and the questions of whether the various tax bases offered viable tax bases for the future, and whether simplification is possible. After consultation in 2009, a few issues surrounding interest in corporate income tax were added to the Tax System Study Committee’s mandate. The Study Committee was asked, among other things, to examine whether, and how, a better spread of the corporate income tax burden between companies that operate nationally and those that operate internationally could be achieved, by making fundamental changes.

The Study Committee – a mixed group of civil servants, external experts, and the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis – submitted its report to the Lower House on April 7, 2010. The most important conclusions are that major changes to the tax system are not advisable, and leveling off the tax rate structure and neutralizing the difference between equity and debt are to be recommended. It is ultimately up to the new government and the new composition of the Lower House to determine which of the Study Committee’s conclusions and recommendations will result in concrete measures.