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.
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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.
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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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