2027 tax plan is at least four Senate seats short

The 2027 tax package has no majority yet in the Eerste Kamer, the Senate. If the same parties vote for it as in the Tweede Kamer on Thursday evening, at least four more seats are needed.

The Senate debate on the plan is provisionally scheduled for Monday 7 December. The measures had to be known before 20 November so that the tax authority, the Belastingdienst, can put the changes into effect for next year. Prime Minister Rob Jetten warned in an earlier debate on the plan that failing to pass it in both chambers would cost billions.

D66, PRO, CDA, ChristenUnie, DENK, Partij voor de Dieren, 50PLUS and Volt voted for the plan in the Tweede Kamer. Together they account for 34 votes in the Senate. DENK has no seats there, so its vote in the Tweede Kamer adds nothing in the upper house.

Support from Partij voor de Dieren (Party for the Animals) in the Senate is uncertain. The Senate group that uses the name consists of splinter members. The senator still backed by the parent party is Ingrid Visseren-Hamakers.

The Senate has many single-member groups, including senators who split off from the BBB. The independent Senate group OPNL also holds one seat. The chamber can only adopt or reject the plan, not amend it.