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Dutch cabinet wants to triple flight tax, adding €24 to ticket prices

Christine Stein Hededam 🇩🇰
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Dutch cabinet wants to triple flight tax, adding €24 to ticket prices

With coronavirus finally taking a backseat in our lives, more people are picking up their long-postponed travel plans. And that’s great! Just not for the environment…

As a result, the Dutch cabinet wants to triple the current flight tax of €8. Yup, say hello to a €24 price bump on all tickets for flights departing from the Netherlands.

The cabinet is planning for the new tax plan to take off next year, writes RTL Nieuws. ✈️

Wants to make flying “relatively less attractive”

The idea is to nudge people to use other means of transportation — and that way contribute to a greener future. In a letter to parliament sent by the Minister of Finance, Sigrid Kraag, she writes that the cabinet wants to make flying “relatively less attractive.”

Oh, and the tax also contributes to the government’s revenue of course. 💰 With the flight tax currently bringing in €200 million per year, the goal is to get €600 million from flying travellers in 2023. 

Applies to departing passengers only

Only passengers departing from Dutch airports who’ll notice the €24 ticket increase. The flight tax doesn’t apply to arrivals, transfers, or children under two years of age.

Although flying from Dutch airports will become more expensive, the cabinet believes the consequences will be “relatively limited in the short term.”

Some might indeed opt for non-airborne transportation or forego travelling altogether while others will book their departure from a foreign airport or simply keep flying from the Netherlands. 🤷‍♀️

What do you think of the Dutch flight tax increase? Tell us in the comments below!

More women in Dutch municipal councils after 2022 elections

Katrien Nivera 🇵🇭
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More women in Dutch municipal councils after 2022 elections

While Dutch municipal elections had a historically low turnout, Dutch women saw a pretty big win. 🎉

In the newly elected municipal councils, more than 36% of members are women. Before the elections this year, 31% of all council members were female, says NU.nl. 💪🏼

Majority of women in more municipalities

In 2018, 70 women with preferential votes were elected in the largest Dutch municipalities. Before this year’s elections, women only had a majority of council seats in seven municipalities.

Now, 180 women with preferential votes joined municipal councils and they hold the majority in 24 municipalities.

These include some bigger cities like Delft, Utrecht, Wageningen, Nijmegen, Leeuwarden, and Zwolle.

In the 70 largest municipalities in the Netherlands, women currently make up an average of 41% of all councillors. More and more voters are also consciously voting for women, reports Devika Partiman, chairman of the Stem op een Vrouw (Vote for a Woman) Foundation.

Across political parties

The support for women goes beyond specific political parties. Most parties actually had a high number of votes for women including the People’s Party of Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), Democrats 66 (D66), GreenLeft (GroenLinks), and the Labour Party (PvdA).

Now, there is not a single municipality that doesn’t have a woman sitting on the municipal council.

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The sun is not here to stay — and snow might make a comeback to the Netherlands

Jana Vondráčková 🇨🇿
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The sun is not here to stay — and snow might make a comeback to the Netherlands

Basking in the sun on Dutch terraces the past couple of days has been pure bliss.

But unfortunately, all good things come to an end — at least when it comes to good weather in the Netherlands.

After today, the weather is going to do a complete 180, reports RTL Nieuws.

🌨 Chances of snow

So, what’s changing? Expect temperatures below 10 degrees, lots of clouds, rain showers, and potentially even wet snow towards the end of the week on Thursday and Friday.

As if that wasn’t already enough of a throwback to winter, Leander de Wit from Buienradar also tells RTL Nieuws that “it will probably freeze during the week, especially in the east of the country.”

☀️ Sunniest March on record

This is going to be a stark contrast to the weather we’ve been enjoying the past weeks. No wonder — March 2022 was the sunniest on record, reports RTL Nieuws.

With a total of 211 hours of sunshine as of last Friday, March 25, it topped the previous record holder, March 2014, which had 208 hours of sunshine in total. ☀️

The sun and mild temperatures go hand in hand with low precipitation. As a result, March 2022 might also become the driest March ever recorded.

How will you be spending those cold grey days? Let us know in the comments!

Florence, Bologna and Copenhagen to join night train destinations from the Netherlands

Cara Räker 🇩🇪
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Florence, Bologna and Copenhagen to join night train destinations from the Netherlands

Choo-Choo! 🚂 Good news for all of those wanting to travel sustainably this summer — GreenCityTrip introduces four new night trains to Florence, Bologna, Copenhagen and Gothenburg.

What’s more romantic than travelling on a night train? Stunning views, a low-carbon footprint and the noise of a rattling train journeying through Europe soothing you to sleep. 😍

After the introduction of sleeper trains taking you from Amsterdam to Zurich or Amsterdam to Prague, you can now add Italy and Denmark to your travel bucket list 2022, says Treinreiziger.nl.

🇮🇹 Florence and Bologna

The night trains to Florence and Bologna will both be available from September 2022 onwards. Here are the available dates you should highlight in your calendar:

Destination20222023
BolognaSeptember 1, 15, 29
October 14, 22
November 3		February 21
FlorenceSeptember 15, 29
November 3		February 21
March 1, 16

Both trains will take you from Amsterdam to Italy in five days. The first and last days are travel days, where you can sleep on the train.

Prices range between €200 to €229 at the moment for both destinations, which is a real steal if you ask us. 😎

🇩🇰 Copenhagen and Gothenburg

Looking for some Scandinavian charme this autumn? Think: colourful houses, the smell of cinammon buns and breath-taking fjords? Then you might want to chose a night train to Denmark over Italy!

Luckily for you, GreenCityTrips has added to new destination to the list: Copenhagen and Gothenburg. Here are the dates for 2022. 👇🏻

Destination2022
CopenhagenJuly 28
November 17
GothenburgJuly 28
November 17

These train journeys are a bit more expensive. Both trips in July are currently selling at €319 to Copenhagen and €529 to Gothenburg.

But don’t fret! Off-peak season you fair a bit cheaper. In November, you’re looking to pay €309 and €289 respectively.

Are you planning to take a nighttrain to either Denmark or Italy this year? Tell us in the comments!

Body of missing Spanish woman (24) found in Amsterdam canal

Katrien Nivera 🇵🇭
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Body of missing Spanish woman (24) found in Amsterdam canal

Police divers found the body of Silvia Soriano Morente (24) who went missing in Westerpark, Amsterdam on March 19.

Soriano Morente was visiting the fair in the park before going to a coffee shop, according to NH Nieuws.

Police investigation underway

Amsterdam police called her friends and family, brought rescue dogs to the scene, and blocked off part of the park.

They carefully removed the body from the canal. Once they confirmed it was indeed Soriano Morente, they informed her family in Spain.

“This afternoon, the remains of 24-year-old Silvia Soriano Morente, who had been missing since March 19, were found in the water in the Westerpark. There are no signs of crime. The police thanks everyone for all the tips and information and wishes the relatives much strength,” reads the Tweet.

Clothes and cellphone found on the bank

The police saw Soriano Morente on security camera footage in the coffee shop the night she went missing. After that, they lost track of her whereabouts.

However, later that evening, her friends found her clothes and cellphone in a puddle on the canal bank.

No signs of violence or crime

A police spokesman said they established that there was no indication of crime on Soriano Morente’s body.

They will investigate further into the cause of her death. However, it seems that violence was not involved. Soriano Morente had been living in Amsterdam for about four months.

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Refugee villages for Ukrainians? It’s an option, says Dutch government

Jana Vondráčková 🇨🇿
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Refugee villages for Ukrainians? It’s an option, says Dutch government

The Dutch government is contemplating building special villages for Ukrainian refugees.

Nearly four million Ukrainians have already fled their country following the Russian invasion. The Netherlands has so far welcomed over 12,000 of them — and more will come.

The lowlands could see tens, potentially hundreds, of thousands of refugees from Ukraine in the coming weeks, reports RTL Nieuws. If the war doesn’t end, they might stay here for years to come.

However, we all know that the Netherlands is struggling with an ongoing housing shortage. Constructing entirely new villages could therefore be a possible solution to manage the influx of Ukrainian refugees.

Not in favour

The Dutch Council for Refugees (VluchtelingenWerk) doesn’t see this as a good solution. Separating Ukrainians from everyone else will lower their chances of learning the language, finding work, and fully integrating into Dutch society.

“We see more potential in a mixed solution, where you accommodate different groups together. That you build places where also other refugees groups and Dutch people can live together,” says the Council.

15,000 spots for refugees in old government buildings

In the meantime, the cabinet is making 15,000 spots available for Ukrainian and other refugees in empty government buildings, reports the NOS. These are mainly offices but also, for example, an empty prison.

The government is also discussing other ways to make space for refugees. At the moment, Dutch municipalities can accommodate 28,000 of them. This number is supposed to go up to 50,000.

What do you think of building villages for Ukrainian refugees? Let us know in the comments!

The richest Dutch spend the least of their income on taxes

Jana Vondráčková 🇨🇿
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The richest Dutch spend the least of their income on taxes

The Dutch tax system likes to present itself as one that’s fair, progressive, and very good at redistribution.

Surprise, surprise, this isn’t really the case — and some people are much better off than others. (Yes, we’re talking about the rich). 🙃

New findings by the Dutch Central Planning Bureau (CPB) and Statistics Netherlands show that the richest 1% of Dutchies spend 21% of their income on tax, while for people with middle and high income, this is 40%, reports the NOS.

The lowest-income individuals spend about 55% of their income on tax. They do, however, get benefits, allowances, and tax credits from the government as compensation (how chivalrous).

New variables

Why are we only learning about this now? It’s because previous studies only looked at taxes on labour — and nothing else.

When you do that, you get that desirable picture of lowest-income individuals paying (almost) no tax thanks to tax credits and high-income individuals giving away a big chunk of their earnings.

But as we all know, the Netherlands has a bunch of other taxes too. If you add indirect taxes (taxes consumers pay when they purchase goods and services) and income from other sources than labour into the mix, you get a completely different picture.

The reality

Low-income individuals spend a relatively larger part of what they earn on indirect taxes, such as VAT and excise duty.

Arjan Lejour, CPB researcher and one of the authors of the new report, tells the NOS: “You have a kind of minimum you spend on life necessities, such as groceries or petrol. If you earn more, the proportion you spend on consumption becomes smaller and smaller. This means you pay less VAT in relative terms.”

But it doesn’t end there. The rich stay rich because they get income from assets, such as investments, renting out homes, or hoarding company profits. These are all categories that are taxed very differently (if at all) than income.

So, the takeaway from all this? Buy up a bunch of real estate and shares — that way, you’ll spend less of your income on taxes than those who can barely afford the rising food and energy prices.

Wait, you can’t even afford to buy a house in the Netherlands? Helaas pindakaas. 🤷‍♀️

Are you surprised by these new findings? Tell us in the comments!

Religion in the Netherlands on the wane: more non-believers than religious followers

Christine Stein Hededam 🇩🇰
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Religion in the Netherlands on the wane: more non-believers than religious followers

Do you believe in God? 🙏🏻

The Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP) has been asking that question since the mid-60s. Now, since the first time of those initial surveys, the answer was most frequently “nee“. 🙅

Over the past decades, the proportion of non-believers in the Netherlands has been examed through different surveys, but this new study is the first to minutely map the group, reports the NOS.

READ MORE | Religion in the Netherlands: a perspective on the different religions in the country

The study Buiten kerk en mosque (Outside church and mosque) is the third part of a larger research project. The first and second parts focused on Christians and Muslims in the Netherlands.

Half the Dutch population is either atheist or agnostic

According to the SCP, the exact percentage of non-believers in the Netherlands will vary depending on the specific type of research and how the questions are phrased.

Nevertheless, the new figures make it clear that around 50% of Dutchies consider themselves atheist or agnostic.

So what’s the difference? Atheists deny the existence of a God, whereas agnostics argue that it’s impossible for humans to know whether a God is watching over us or not.

Dutch religious institutions are losing ground

With the percentage of non-believers in the Netherlands being almost double that of the mid-60s and late-70s, religious institutions are losing their influence on Dutch social life, says the SCP.

The SCP also highlight that the decline of religion is part of what has made the Netherlands the open-minded country it is today. 🙌

Sadly, the SCP also warns that Dutch open-mindedness only goes so far. The researchers find that there may be more misunderstanding between believers (Christians, Muslims and others) and non-believers than meets the eye.

READ MORE | Dutch Quirk #63: Hate on the Netherlands’ bible belt

Therefore, they urge Dutch politicians to promote mutual understanding and acceptance and in that way create a society where everyone feels they can participate fully.

What’s your experience of religion in the Netherlands? Tell us in the comments!

Mysterious illness sends 450 students on ski holiday home to Utrecht

Cara Räker 🇩🇪
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Mysterious illness sends 450 students on ski holiday home to Utrecht

Weak legs, heavy shaking, loss of hearing and panic attacks — these strange symptoms disrupted the ski holiday of a group of first-year students from Utrecht.

Two Utrecht student unions had organised a trip for 450 students to the French ski area Risoul.

On Tuesday evening, the symptoms first appeared in five students that reported feeling unwell, says RTL Nieuws.

Symptoms catch on

After the illness was reported, the bars and pubs the students visited were closed just in case. The students were gathered and put under observation.

Despite these efforts, four more students came down with the same symptoms yesterday evening. Two students had to be brought into the hospital, where blood tests will hopefully bring more insights.

Unknown causes

Douwe Korver, vice president of the student union USC (Utrechtse Studenten Corps) does not want to speculate over the potential use of drugs. He says, “We’re waiting for the results of the check-ups.”

Phew, a mysterious disease spreading in a ski resort in March? This seems like an eerily familiar piece of news none of us wants to read ever again. 😅

Have you heard of this mysterious illness befalling Dutch students? Tell us in the comments!

Art thieves rob Dutch gallery of six paintings in just four minutes

Cara Räker 🇩🇪
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Art thieves rob Dutch gallery of six paintings in just four minutes

An art gallery in Eindhoven was robbed of six paintings yesterday with a total net worth of €60,000. 🎨

Owner Jan van de Loo has been working in the art world since his early twenties and has never before experienced any paintings being stolen, he tells RTL Nieuws.

A four minute job

Four minutes — that’s all it took for the burglars to enter the art gallery through the back entrance and bag six paintings with an estimated value of €10,000 each.

Five of the paintings were by the Eindhovense artist Cornelis le Mair. Another one was by Kees Bol, also from Eindhoven.

The robbery took place yesterday evening at around 8 PM. Usually, Van de Loo and his co-owner would have still been on the premise.

Because of the good weather, however, the two of them went out early. “The burglars must have known that,” says Van de Loo.

Please, give them back

And if all of this would not have been bad enough, here comes the cherry on top — the paintings were not yet insured.

The paintings have only been exhibited since last week and gallery owner Van de Loo was still waiting for the insurance papers.

So, Van de Loo wants to send a message to the burglars: “Please return our paintings.” The police have picked up the investigation but can’t yet communicate any details to the public.

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