Budget: main points for 2010
Tuesday 15 September 2009
The measures taken in the 2010 budget focus on 'creating and preserving jobs, a strong and resilient business community and limiting any further drop in demand,' the finance ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
The main points of the budget:
General finances
State debt to reach 65.7% of GDP in 2010
Budget deficit to reach 4.8% of GDP in 2009, 6.2% in 2010
Economic growth flat in 2010
Inflation to reach 1% in 2010
Unemployment to hit 8% end 2010
Spending power to go down by an average 0.25% next year
Taxes and premiums
No changes to income tax rates or mortgage tax relief
Value added tax (btw) unchanged at 19% but reduced to 6% for painting older houses and domestic cleaning services
Employer wage admin costs cut by €380m
€220m in extra tax breaks for innovation, earnings from R&D taxed at 5%
Basic health insurance set to rise by estimated €20 a year, income-related health charge and own-risk contribution to rise slightly
Spending cuts
Total cuts in 2011 €1.8bn
Development aid budget cut by €600m to €4.7bn, but still 0.8% of GDP
€75m less for workforce reintegration
Child benefit and student grants frozen
State pension for partners under 55 to be scrapped
Cuts on defence spending to reach €172m by 2013
€25m cut in spending on public broadcasters
Less cash for professionalising primary school management
Extra spending
€1bn extra for spending on part-time jobless benefits
€150m extra for local authorities to spend on urban renewal
€416m extra to combat youth unemployment, boost training
€300 extra for waterways and coastal protection
Economic affairs loan guarantee scheme raised to €150m
€214 extra for immigration and refugee policy
New initiatives
Pension age to rise from 65 to 67 (date of implementation not yet known) if no alternative found
300 'family and child' centres to open nationwide by end-2010
Extra frequencies for mobile communications auctioned next year
Integration course target in 2010 remains at 60,000 students
The 60 watt lightbulb is to be phased out ahead of EU schedule
Measures to stop the waste of hospital emergency department resources
More effort to increase flexible working hours
Planning procedures for new roads to be accelerated
More powers for police to deport failed asylum seekers
Nationwide campaign to reduce possession of knives
Councils to get the power to raise age to buy alcohol to 18
For an official summary of the budget, click here
For the finance ministry statement, click here
For more on the finance ministry's tax plans, click here
© DutchNews.nl
Readers' comments
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Friday: Cold and sunny everywhere. Heavy frost at night. Similar Saturday but thaw possible Sunday
....and dont forget if you have a chronic sickness they give you 350,- euroer year with no tax relief to pay for things that your health insurance won't pay for like alternitive treatments, viagra etc. Don't we think that by cutting back on handicapped persons we will be on the road to economic recovery? My mind boggles...........
By Mark G | September 15, 2009 11:03 PM