ASML, NXP and others: don’t tamper with expat tax ruling

About forty Dutch tech companies and organizations, including ASML, NXP and Tomtom, have petitioned the government to maintain tax breaks for expats (link in Dutch). No plans to modify or scrapping the ruling have been officially announced, but reportedly the cabinet is considering it in an effort to balance the budget. Such an important scheme shouldn’t be tampered with, especially now that attracting talent is difficult, warned Ingrid Thijssen, chairperson of employers’ federation VNO-NCW.

The tax break ruling was last modified in 2019. Since then, instead of indefinitely, expats in the Netherlands don’t pay taxes over 30 percent of their salaries for the first five years of their stay. The arrangement causes the government to miss out on about 1 billion euros of tax revenue.

“The strong economic position of the Netherlands isn’t self-evident. Talent is indispensable for a strong innovation climate and the realization of tomorrow’s earning power. The 30 percent ruling is an essential instrument to attract international talent to the Netherlands,” the executives of tech companies argue in an open letter. Up to 70 percent of their employees aren’t Dutch nationals.