Easier income tax for expats
The Dutch tax service to simplify income tax procedures to benefit expats.
Exemption from filing returns
Before the end of 2009, the Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax Office) will commence arrangements with international companies in the Netherlands that work with expats. It will request companies to slightly modify their payroll administration.
As a result, (if the company complies) expats will be exempt from filing tax returns. Normally, an employer withholds a percentage of tax from an employee’s monthly salary. In the course of the following year, usually before April, the employee has to file a tax return. After two or three months they receive a preliminary return. It takes approximately another four months for the tax service to issue the final statement.
Less paperwork, more competitive
All of the above steps in the process would be eliminated. The income tax paid, as outlined on an expat’s monthly salary slip, will be served as the final amount. This will save foreign workers from extra paperwork during their stay or once they have returned home. The procedure will make coming and going a lot more flexible and, companies will be more competitive while tapping into the global work pool.
Source: Het Financieele Dagblad (Financial Daily), 27 November, 2009.
More information
For more information visit Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax office)
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