Cabinet has no deal with opposition on tax plan
With the Tweede Kamer vote set for 12 November, BBB, JA21 and others tie their support for the tax plan (belastingplan) to demands on nitrogen, asylum and abortion.
The minority cabinet has no deal yet with opposition parties on its tax plan, after inviting their leaders for talks this week. It wants to send an amended plan to the Tweede Kamer on Monday, leaving a week to debate all fiscal measures before the vote on 12 November.
The cabinet needs votes from outside the coalition. BBB is needed for a majority in the Eerste Kamer (Senate), and it will not back the tax plan or other budgets unless the nitrogen plans change drastically.
BBB leader Henk Vermeer spoke after his talks on Tuesday evening. “We do see some movement on the tax plan at the moment, but not yet on nitrogen. And as you and the cabinet know, that is our most important theme,” he said. He is not giving up: “It is only Tuesday evening.”
Agriculture minister Jaimi van Essen is holding parallel talks on his nitrogen plans with farming organisations LTO and NAJK. He wants to send the first bills with measures to the Kamer on Friday. Both organisations want the cabinet to change the plans on several points.
JA21 leader Joost Eerdmans will back the tax plan only if the cabinet does not force municipalities to take in asylum seekers under the spreidingswet, the dispersal law. He called the cabinet immovable on this: “We did not get anywhere on that.” Asylum minister Bart van den Brink has said he aims for this but cannot give a firm commitment, because he must abide by the law.
Eerdmans does see movement on three other JA21 wishes: reducing asylum inflow, moving the asylum procedure abroad and reassessing the residence permits of 70,000 Syrians. The cabinet has similar plans to a greater or lesser degree.
SGP leader Chris Stoffer wants the trial for late abortions, after 22 weeks of pregnancy, to stop. PRO and Volt want to change only the tax plan: they want billions cut from tax on work, with the richest paying. 50PLUS leader Jan Struijs calls the time pressure the biggest risk: “I am really afraid that we will all end up in the gravel pit together.”
What happens next
- Monday: the cabinet wants to send the amended tax plan to the Tweede Kamer
- Friday: Van Essen wants to send the first nitrogen bills to the Kamer
- 12 November: the Kamer votes on the tax plan
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Follow the story: Spreidingswet
Eerste Kamer
The Senate, the upper house of the Dutch parliament. It cannot amend bills but can approve or reject them after the Tweede Kamer has passed them. Its 75 members are elected by the members of the provincial councils.
Spreidingswet
The law that spreads the reception of asylum seekers across Dutch municipalities. Each province and municipality is asked to provide a share of the places; a municipality that does not can be placed under supervision and, in the end, instructed by the minister.
BBB (BoerBurgerBeweging)
The Farmer-Citizen Movement is a Dutch political party focused on rural areas, farmers and food production, with a strong position on nitrogen and land-use policy. It has seats in both the Tweede Kamer (House of Representatives) and the Eerste Kamer (Senate). Because the Eerste Kamer must approve bills, its votes can decide whether a cabinet's laws pass.
LTO (Land- en Tuinbouw Organisatie)
LTO Nederland is the Dutch umbrella organisation for farmers and growers, which represents the interests of agricultural and horticultural businesses towards the government. It takes part in consultations on policy that affects its members, such as nitrogen rules, and gives its views on draft plans before they are finalised. Its position is advisory, not a legal authority.