Tax plan passes lower house narrowly but lacks Senate majority
The Tweede Kamer passed the belastingplan (tax plan) with 76 votes, but the parties that backed it hold only 35 of the 38 Eerste Kamer seats needed for a majority.
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Illustrative photo: risastla / CC BY-SA 2.0The Tweede Kamer voted for the tax plan on Thursday evening, with 76 members in favour. It passed by the narrowest of margins, helped by support from parties including Denk and Partij voor de Dieren (Party for the Animals).
In the Eerste Kamer, the Senate, those parties together hold only 35 seats. A majority needs 38 senators.
“High taxes on incomes. Hundreds of millions to abroad. Expensive climate policy. Who pays this bill? You. The solution is a small government and lower taxes. That gives citizens and entrepreneurs more freedom so that the Netherlands can move forward again.👇🏻 #Belastingplan”
Timing matters. New tax rules should in principle be known before 20 November. Otherwise the Belastingdienst, the tax office, has to correct millions of provisional assessments retroactively.
The Senate count may be even tighter. The two-member Partij voor de Dieren group in the Eerste Kamer is a splinter group. According to the party, it is now represented there only by Ingrid Visseren-Hamakers, which would bring the number of votes in favour to 34 for now.
Support would have to come from splinter groups. The Senate has former members of the VVD, JA21 and BBB sitting as one-person groups. Senator Auke de Groot said in a press release on Friday morning that OPNL is willing to talk about supporting the plan. OPNL (Onafhankelijke Politiek Nederland) is a cooperation of several regional parties and holds one seat.
Even with OPNL's seat, the CDA and D66 reach only 35 votes in favour for now. What happens if the Eerste Kamer votes against the plan is unclear.
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