The cabinet is on the verge of giving in to the three Christian parties’ demands for a bigger tax break for families with stay at home wives, the AD says on Tuesday.

Tax minister Eric Wiebes needs the support of several opposition parties to push his plans through the upper house of parliament.  The three parties have demanded more support for ‘traditional’ families in which the women do not work in return for their backing in the senate.

Families with one working parent pay relatively more tax than families in which both partners work because the tax-free allowance for the non-working partner is being phased out. The aim is to encourage more women to work.

However, the Christian Democrats and the small, fundamental Christian parties SGP and ChristenUnie want this process to be slowed down. Wiebes has now pledged to discuss this in the cabinet, the AD says.

The other opposition parties, such as D66, are opposed to the move, arguing that a basic principle of encouraging women to be economically independent is being compromised. MPs from the two ruling parties also have their doubts about the compromise.

MPs will debate the tax reform plans again next week.