Some 850,000 people in the Netherlands had an income which took them into the top tax band of 52% last year, the national statistics office CBS said on Monday.

This means they had to pay tax of 52% on earnings above €56,531 a year.

Almost half of all Dutch adults’ income was below €19,646, so they were taxed at a rate of 32.65%, the CBS said. The middle tax band is currently 42%

Of the 13.1 million Dutch residents with an official income, 7.7 million were in work. The rest were living on pensions or social security benefits.

The government is expected to announce a cut in income tax rates during tomorrow’s budget.