A number of new laws come into effect on January 1, while some taxes and premiums are also set to go up. Here’s a summary of the main changes:

Children under the age of 18 will no longer be allowed to buy cigarettes or alcoholic drinks. If caught in public with alcohol, they face a fine.

The duty on wine, beer, sherry and port is going up by 5.75%.

All traffic fines are going up, as are the duties on petrol. The fine for jumping a red light will be €230, while not placing a red triangle on the road if you have a breakdown will cost €140.

People with company electric cars will now have to pay tax of 4% on their catalogue value. Electric cars used to be tax free.

The state pension age is going up by one month to 65 and two months. The minimum wage for an adult rises by €8 to €1,485.60.

The health insurance own-risk element rises €10 to €360. Health insurance benefit is going down to a maximum €865 a year for a single person.

The maximum rent for a rent-controlled property goes up to €699, while the maximum you can earn to live in rent-controlled accommodation goes up to €34,678.

Every household will pay an extra €10 on their energy bills for sustainability measures.

The lower rate of value-added tax (btw) on building renovations will continue throughout 2014.

Farmers are no longer allowed to produce more manure than they can spread on their own ground unless they can prove they have a formal contract to have it removed.

Post will no longer be delivered on Monday.

Romanians and Bulgarians will be able to come to the Netherlands without a work permit.

Source: Nos