I'm sorry, but....

Higher public transport fees? We're already paying too much for public transport!! How about lower the fares, because they're about the same as it costs to drive to work, even with todays high petrol prices (which is largely tax driven also!!

Higher own risk on health insurance!! What, are we evolving our healthcare system into some pseudo American version? Doesn't work there, won't work here.

How about the government gets takes a pay-cut, gets rid of half the civil service, removes local government and half the silly red tape laws that are propping these local governments up in the first place. That would go a long way to finding the €29bn deficit!!

By Caycu | March 18, 2010 9:15 AM

the mortgage tax relief system is exceedingly top heavy, those with the biggest mortgages (ie the rich) get the most money back. No assessment is made on your income, it's based purely on mortgage value. Disgusting that the rich are being subsidised by taxpayers to the tune of 25 billion euros per year. Something must be done to reign-in this rich-mans benefit.

The idea of linking housing rental value to the private property market valuation is disgusting and should be prevented at all costs. Another example of neo-liberal world domination where the rich are financed by the poor.

I hope none of the futile cost cutting suggestions as indicated in the article make it as far as even serious consideration.

The government should be going into temporary debt to get the economy back on track, not makingn cuts to balance the books. Why don't they seem to understand this basic economic point in the upper echelons of dutch politics?

By John | March 18, 2010 11:02 AM

Mortgage tax relief in the Netherlands is among the most generous in Europe, yes, but income taxes are not! Get rid of mortgage tax, but put in a 25% linear incomce tax instead.

By jerry | March 18, 2010 1:07 PM

John, people with higher income might get higher return if their mortgage is higher, however, they also pay substantially higher taxes in both, percentage and value, therefore mortgare relief should be based on mortage value itself, as income tax already addressed the difference in income. 52% of 200.000 is more than 52% of 60.000.
I really agree with Jerry - I'd be happy to part with mortgage relief and pay 25% tax :)

By Kiki | March 18, 2010 1:25 PM

Well, loosing mortgage tax relief with current taxes would be, a direct kick in the crouch.

By sumone | March 18, 2010 1:28 PM

If the government want to make some extra money at a time like this then it needs to be new money not increases in already existing taxation.

There is about to be an independent investigation into the Catholic churchs covering up of paedophile priests here in the Netherlands just like in America and Ireland.

So when it is found out that the head of the Catholic church in the Netherlands knew about it but didnt do anything about it you can then punish the Catholic church. Every religion has to be approved by government for their tax free status. Now i dont know the ins and outs of it but im guessing when a church gets religious status in a country they must sign something about obeying the laws of the country. As this hasnt happened (heads of church helping to cover up child abuse) then they should lose their religious status and therefore be eligable for tax. This would generate a huge amount of money for any country that is willing to do it and if any group on earth could do with giving back its that bunch in the Vatican.

So in short revoke the Catholic churchs religious status and tax them!!!! I would love to see something like this happen.

By langer | March 18, 2010 1:35 PM

Mortgage relief is one of the good things about this country: at least young people can afford a house in their 20s here, unlike the UK and other places where relief was scrapped a few decades ago. I don't want to see the housing market go to the Boom and Bust of the 'United' countries.

If people remain in lowcost social housing, they should be income-checked on an annual basis and either pay a fair rent, or move out and stop taking advantage.

By osita | March 18, 2010 1:41 PM

kiki,

this is a rich-man’s benefit however you look at it. The amount of tax relief is based first upon the value of your mortgage. Then they look at the rate of tax relief based on the income-tax band definition. So if I earn €54000 and have a mortgage of 175.000 then I get relief at 32%. However if I have a mortgage of €1.000.000 you can be sure my salary is much higher. So yes, I pay more income tax, but I also get tax relief at 52% on a much, much higher sum.

80% of all money paid out in mortgage tax relief goes to the top 10% of people claiming it. That is a rich-mans benefit however you look at it and even taxpayers who don’t have a mortgage subsidise it. The system is corrupt and needs changing!

Osita,
independent estimates all agree that the mortgage tax relief system in the NL has pushed up house prices artificially. By as much as 15% but the median figure arrived at was around 8%. Your diatribe against people in social housing taking advantage is pathetic considering there is a very small but rich
group of top-house owners in this country truly taking advantage.

mortgage tax relief should be phased out (and replaced by fairer income tax, agreed Jerry) but we can start by saving billions per year by not subsidising people earning €100.000+ per annum

By john | March 18, 2010 2:49 PM

@John

If you think it's a 'very small' group of people in the 52% tax band, think again: the limit is not much over 50k. Most expat 'knowledge migrants' have to earn that kind of salary just to live here, with no access to social housing. We are therefore either at the mercy of landlords eager to make a killing on astronomically overpriced rabbit hutches, or we buy and claim back tax. Nobody subsidises my family, we receive back far less in tax than we pay, in the same way a low-earning native who knows the system would get back tax money in huur-subsidies.

Removing the subsidy will just plunge existing homeowners deep into negative equity at best and repossession at worst, although you seem to think that's perfectly acceptable price to pay for your 'ideals'.

By osita | March 18, 2010 4:50 PM

How about cut the already high tax rates in half to encourage more savings and investment (why are middle class families paying 52% when 25% is already to high?) and only then maybe raise the highest tax rate to 60% for those over EUR 1 million

Raise dog tax heavily - and spend it on actually scooping up the crap!

Encourage more tourism by bringing back the strippenkaart, halting the shut down of the red light districts, cleaning up the cities from dog crap, etc.

Open up the economy to more competition - believe me there is no competition in this country - which will have the dual purpose of lower the prices for goods and increasing the quality of goods and services

Permit stores to be open 7 days per week so they have more options to make money and employ more workers

Abolish mortgage tax break

Abolish all these cultural subsidies I hear about - when we are in a time of economic pain, we cannot afford these luxuries

Get rid of all the stupid little rules for starting a business or you will never get the economy growing

Refuse visas for any immigrant that cannot prove a steady, reliable source of income available to them. Be extra careful who you let in because once they are in, they will milk you. Only admit non-EU persons who are university graduates with high value skills. Why should we all pay for you to bring in someone you love, but cannot support?

Stop the far too generous maternity leave that unfairly punishes small businesses - maybe let a woman take it once and then never again

Abolish the absurdly high student subsidy grants - all those kids at Leiden are coming from wealthy families that can afford to send them there at full price. Replace with a means-tested student loan system that must be repaid

Abolish this discriminatory 30% tax ruling for some expats - either give everyone in the country a 30% tax ruling or get rid of it

Sell off all the TV channels to private corporations - why is the government running TV in this day and age of internet broadcasting, sky TV, etc.?

Stop sending money to third world countries where it immediately disappears - and magically reappears in the country's president's Swiss bank account

Tell Iceland to pay up or veto their admission to the EU

Get out of foreign military campaigns

Tell Greece to sort out their problems on their own - they made the bad economic decisions that got them into this mess and no one there is willing to make the sacrifices necessary

Raise petrol tax heavily (instead of kilometer tax) which will serve the function of raising tax and helping the environment

and for Christ's sake tax the Queen already!

But please do not raise public transport or health costs - that is hitting the wrong target!

By Matt | March 18, 2010 5:16 PM

This is just another action caused by the economic recession, that was some time ago reported to the public as being over. You can't fool all the people all the time!

The recession: to be continued, (For some time to come.)

By stevie | March 18, 2010 7:14 PM

osita,

I think you're misreading my point, horribly so. I know exactly how the dutch income tax system is defined and now the 52% rate applies to all earnings from €54.368

My point about the small group of people benefitting from this mortgage rebate scheme is aimed at those at the very top of the scale. Those living on the Herengracht with a mortgage of €2m plus - they gain the most benefit from the scheme as it is.

Like I said before, 80% of the money paid out under this scheme is paid to the top 10% of people claiming it. Meaning, the higher your mortgage, the more you get back. You have to ask yourself does someone earning enough money to get a €2m mortgage from a bank really need this tax back? I doubt it very much, so it would be much better to put a cap on the scheme to stop paying the rich.

I'm not talking about scrapping this scheme (which is an often used and scurrilous argument) - I'm talking about re-evaluating it to both save billions of euros (by not funding those that really don't need it) and by helping out those who really do need it. I would cap it so that above a certain amount (don't know which amount yet) you don't get any extra rebate. Much like the income tax system in fact, where even the richest person in holland will pay just 33.65% on the first 18.218 euro they earn.

This is a question of macro economics, not my ideals.

By John | March 19, 2010 12:27 PM