Everyone’s tax bill is falling, except the top 10%: CBS

The share of income going on income tax has fallen for all income groups over the past ten years, except for the top 10% of earners, according to the national statistics office CBS. The top tier pays 24.9% of its income in tax, while the very lowest pays nothing.

The typical household paid 12.3% of its gross income in income tax and national insurance contributions in 2024, down from 15.4% in 2011.

The figures do not include VAT, which hits the poorest hardest, or pension and unemployment insurance premiums. Including all taxes and premiums, the typical household paid 32.3% in 2024, against 35.2% in 2011.

The figures also don’t say anything about purchasing power. Consumer prices are more than a fifth higher than in 2021, and inflation was 3.3% in August, driven by rising energy costs.

Low earners
The highest earners paid 24.9% in 2024, slightly more than the 24.7% they paid in 2014. Every other group is paying less.

The biggest drop was for low earners. The second-poorest 10% of households now pay 2.3% of their income in tax, down from 6.7% in 2014. CBS said the employment tax credit was raised substantially over the period, particularly for lower incomes.

“You see a levelling trend here,” CBS chief economist Peter Hein van Mulligen told the Telegraaf. Whether income inequality has fallen as a result cannot be read from these figures alone, he said, and other CBS data show it has stayed broadly stable.

Singles pay most, self-employed more
Couples with two incomes pay far less than anyone else on the same income. On a household income of around €100,000, a couple with two salaries pays 11.9% in tax, a couple with one salary pays 19.4% and a single person pays 22.5%.

The self-employed are the only group paying more than a decade ago, up from 13.4% to 15.6%.