Coalition parties ready to vote against each other on tax plans

The ruling coalition parties have signalled they could vote against one another on amendments to the 2027 tax plan before parliament votes on it next week, after a debate that went ran late into Wednesday night.

Prime minister Rob Jetten’s centrist social-liberal D66 and the centrist Christian Democrat CDA said they could back opposition amendments even if their coalition partner, the right-wing liberal VVD, voted against them, broadcaster NOS reported.

“It is not an unthinkable situation,” D66 finance spokesman Henk-Jan Oosterhuis said after repeated questions from MPs. “The coalition is not a merger party.” CDA MP Inge van Dijk said split voting was “certainly not the intention” but did not rule it out.

Senate hurdle

The tax plan sets income tax rates and other levies for next year, and must be passed in time for the tax office to bring in the changes. If it fails, the cabinet will almost certainly fall, NRC reported.

Earlier this week the cabinet offered about €350 million in concessions to opposition parties on the left and right, which have formed rival blocs and demanded that the coalition choose between them.

The coalition holds 66 of the 150 seats in parliament. It now looks likely to win next week’s vote with the help of the ChristenUnie, 50PLUS and the group led by former PVV MP Gidi Markuszower. But that is not enough in the senate, where it needs the support of either Pro and Volt or the BBB.

Left-wing parties attacked the coalition for relying on Markuszower, after MPs, including the coalition parties, voted earlier this year against deals with politicians who call for violence against refugees. Markuszower had said Palestinian refugees should be stopped “with maximum violence”, the Volkskrant reported. Pro, Denk and the PvdD said extra police funding credited to him amounted to buying his support.

Oosterhuis said there was “no agreement” with Markuszower, but added: “If Mr Markuszower wants to support the tax plan, I am not going to ask him to vote against it.”

Wealth tax offer

The Pro and Volt alliance used the debate to table an amendment that would shift €1.5 billion of tax from workers to the wealthiest. Income tax would be lowered, paid for by a higher tax rate on the largest fortunes, higher tax on business owners’ income from their companies and an end to tax breaks on passing on family businesses.

The VVD’s Wendy van Eijk said it was “unthinkable” that any coalition party would back the proposal “in this form”, and that her party would not support higher taxes on wealth.

Parliament votes on each amendment before voting on the plan as a whole. That means the VVD could vote against a wealth tax rise but still back the final plan, if D66 and the CDA help the amendment through.

MPs vote on the tax plan on November 12, and the senate in the week before Christmas.