Should the king pay taxes? Yes, says Dutch Cabinet

The Cabinet's done with tax-free royals! 🙅🏻‍♀️

The majority of the Dutch House of Representatives and the Senate are officially in favour of making the king cough it up.

In the Netherlands, a majority of two-thirds of the House of Representatives is needed to launch an amendment to the Dutch constitution.

This meant that those who wanted to see the king finally paying taxes had to get the majority of the House of Representatives and Senate to vote in favour.

This has finally happened.

“It is important that the king also pays income tax. The teacher and the police officer do that too. Everyone in the Netherlands contributes to public facilities”, D66 MP Joost Sneller, the man who came up with the proposal, tells AD.

What does this mean?

For now, the king can happily continue to enjoy paying absolutely zero tax on his annual income. However, his days as a tax-free royal may be numbered.

READ MORE | 9 things you didn’t know about King Willem-Alexander

Now that there is a majority to amend the constitution, it’s up to outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte to see it carried out.

There’s just one problem, D66 doubts Rutte will listen to the Cabinet’s majority. “Rutte’s basic attitude has always been: the less changes, the better,” Sneller says.

READ MORE | Dutch Quirk #121: hate on the King and all of his blunders

However, there is hope in the new government — once it is formed. This is because parties such as the NSC, BBB, and PVV are not big fans of the king’s tax exemption.

In other words, we may have to wait for the new government formation before we will see the king paying taxes. 👀

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Feature Image:Depositphotos
Sarah O'Leary 🇮🇪
Sarah O'Leary 🇮🇪
Before becoming the Senior Editor of DutchReview, Sarah was a fresh-faced international looking to learn more about the Netherlands. Since moving here in 2017, Sarah has added a BA in English and Philosophy (Hons.), an MA in Literature (Hons.), and over three years of writing experience at DutchReview to her skillset. When Sarah isn't acting as a safety threat to herself and others (cycling), you can find her trying to sound witty while writing about some of the stickier topics such as mortgages and Dutch law.

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