Background information

As a consequence of the COVID-19 crisis many businesses have faced income and revenue losses. However, many enterprises still face tax obligations which they must pay. With their lower income and revenue this becomes a challenge. To help enterprises, the government has decided to implement a range of tax deferrals, exemptions, and alleviations to support better liquidity amongst enterprises. Additionally, a number of corona-related services, products and payments have been tax exempted to prevent disruptions.

Content of measure

The measure contains a range of changes and adjustments to existing fiscal and tax-related laws and regulations. These include:

Possibility to request deferral of tax payments and reductions of various punitive interest rates on tax debts and delated tax returns. Travel cost tax reliefs will remain provided that travel costs of workers have not changed. Mortgage interest tax relief will remain available for those who have requested postponement of mortgage obligations. VAT-exemptions for medical goods and outsourcing of medical personnel and VAT of 0% for facemasks and COVID-19 vaccines. Deferral of the requirement to deliver administrative details regarding new new employees. Suspension of higher unemployment premium obligations for employees who worked 30% overtime. Agreements with Germany and Belgium for regarding the taxation of cross-border workers. Income tax exemption for bonuses for medical personnel. Lower assumed taxable wages of managing director-shareholder for limited liability with revenue losses. Tax exemptions for corona-related subsidies. Tax exemptions for German corona-related benefits. Expanded possibility to temporarily ‘release’ money reserved for tax obligations on special accounts for companies which use posted workers.

Use of measure

There is not information available yet.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Social partners jointly	National funds No special funding required

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Consulted
Form	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

Employer’s organisations and trade unions are both intensively consulted in relation to the development of social and economic policy responses to the coronavirus. The level of social dialogue is almost exclusively national. All major national social partners, the trade unions FNV, CNV and VCP, and the employer’s organisations VNO-NCW, MKB-Nederland and LTO are consulted during the implementation phase and also contribute to policy monitoring by giving their assessments.

Views and reactions

The social partners work together in the Labour Foundation (Stichting van de Arbeid) and meet on a weekly basis with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. Their role is formally consultative but most measures are implemented with their consent. The social partners monitor the economy recovery packages closely and communicate their objections publicly through press releases. The social partners are generally supportive of the measures. VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland have specifically stated that they also support the extension for the possibility of tax deferral.

Sources

• 01 October 2020: Coronacrisis: looptijd van de belastingmaatregelen (www.rijksoverheid.nl)
• 14 December 2020: Voorstel van wet wijziging van de begrotingsstaat vanwege aanpassingen economische steun- en herstelpakket corona (www.rijksoverheid.nl)
• 01 June 2021: Belastingmaatregelen voor ondernemers, werkgevers en consumenten (www.rijksoverheid.nl)
• 10 December 2021: Belastingmaatregelen voor ondernemers, werkgevers en consumenten (www.rijksoverheid.nl)