In 2022, the state will have received more corporate income tax than ever. The total proceeds were more than 38 billion euros, eleven billion euros more than budgeted. And that means a big windfall for the treasury. “It’s not very often you wake up with a windfall like that.”
‘Great news and also a compliment to companies that have managed to adapt quickly’, says Jan Paternotte, party leader of D66 in the House of Representatives. “We have succeeded in becoming completely independent of Putin’s oil and gas. We have even been able to grow the economy, despite all the problems that people have of course experienced.’
Despite the war in Ukraine, many companies are doing well. They pay corporation tax, better known as profit tax, on the profit they make. And that is considerably higher, after a record amount of corporate income tax was also received in 2021.
At the same time, the cabinet also has to deal with considerable costs for, for example, the energy ceiling that has been set. But those costs are lower for the time being. ‘Basically this is good news’, says Paternotte.
Nevertheless, the costs for households continue to rise due to the rise in interest rates and high inflation. However, core inflation, which excludes energy and food prices, is still high. As a result, consumers pay many times more compared to previous years. According to Paternotte, the government is already doing a lot to support citizens. ‘The state has increased the health care allowance and the child-related budget. In addition, the minimum wage will increase, as will benefits and state pension. Even 10 percent has been added to that.’
Cuts
The chance of cutbacks decreases with the windfall, thinks Paternotte. But the problems for the Netherlands are not over. ‘There are a few major crises that the Netherlands really needs to make decisions about.’ For example, the nitrogen crisis is causing a great deal of uncertainty among entrepreneurs. ‘I understand that, because it concerns permits and investments.’
In addition, the climate issue is becoming increasingly important. In the United States it has been decided to heavily subsidize companies to accelerate greening. ‘We shouldn’t sit still in the Netherlands and think that things will go by themselves,’ says Paternotte. ‘We also have to ensure that entrepreneurs can become more sustainable more quickly. That is the economy of the future and if we don’t build on it now, we won’t automatically remain a rich country.’
Increasing sustainability
As far as D66 is concerned, sustainability has priority over increasing corporate income tax, something that GroenLinks does strive for. ‘Profit tax has already been increased and the priority should be given to those climate agreements with large companies’, Paternotte thinks. ‘That will help the government and ultimately the companies will also benefit from it.’
As far as Paternotte is concerned, the Minister of Economic Affairs, Micky Adriaansens, should put more pressure on this. “It’s not all free.” The government’s climate fund has 35 billion euros ready to make good agreements with large companies. ‘Then we are talking about support and investments from those companies.’
