# VVD weighs staying in cabinet after millionaire tax passes

> Prime Minister Rob Jetten opened crisis talks on Friday with deputy prime ministers Dilan Yesilgöz (VVD) and Bart van den Brink (CDA) after the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of parliament, voted for the 2027 tax package, which the VVD opposed.

Politics · published 2026-11-13 12:28 · https://nlnow.nl/a/vvd-weighs-staying-in-cabinet-after-millionaire-tax-passes/

The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of parliament, voted on Thursday evening for the Belastingplan 2027 tax package, including a millionaire tax, after a third round, in which motions could be submitted. The VVD, a coalition party, was angry and said it would reflect on its position.

On Friday at 11.30 Jetten began talks with deputy prime ministers Dilan Yesilgöz (VVD) and Bart van den Brink (CDA). The Council of Ministers was due to start at 12.30. The Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst, the government press office, said Yesilgöz would make no statement before the council had finished.

> Did Prime Minister Jetten know that the VVD was being sidelined? The more he dances around this simple question, the clearer it becomes. No leadership. No answers. No taking responsibility. Unfit ☑️ #kabinetscrisis
> — Mona Keijzer, independent MP, on X (https://x.com/MonaKeijzer/status/2120925174484586554) (translated from Dutch)

Finance minister Eelco Heinen (VVD) must now carry out a tax plan that his own party voted against.

Before the talks, Van den Brink said that if the will is there, a way out must be possible.

Interior minister Pieter Heerma (CDA) said on arrival: "There are big challenges we need to get on with. That's what I want to focus on above all. We're going to have a good talk." Deputy defence minister Derk Boswijk (CDA) called it a "a terrible situation" and said a cabinet crisis is something "we cannot afford". Boswijk added: "Nobody needs this hassle, and nobody understands it either."

VVD minister Sophie Hermans said little: "Dilan is inside at the moment. We had a very tough political day yesterday." Whether the VVD ministers stay in the cabinet is the open question.

## Background

- **VVD (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie)**: The liberal party on the centre-right, which favours free enterprise and lower taxes. It supplied the prime minister from 2010 to 2024 and is one of the three parties in the current cabinet, with D66 and the CDA.
- **CDA (Christen-Democratisch Appèl)**: The Christian Democratic party, on the centre-right. It has taken part in many Dutch coalition governments and is one of the three parties in the current cabinet, with D66 and the VVD.
- **Belastingplan**: The Belastingplan (tax package) is the annual bill in which the Dutch government proposes changes to taxes and levies, such as tax rates, allowances and tax rules, for the coming year. Parliament must pass it, and it is usually debated in the autumn so the changes can take effect on 1 January. Because it sets the tax rules for the year ahead, it is one of the most important bills the cabinet and the Tweede Kamer handle each year.
- **Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst**: The Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst (government information service, RVD) is the communications service of the Dutch national government. It provides information and press communication for the cabinet and individual ministers, and it speaks on the government's behalf when official statements are needed. It is part of the Ministry of General Affairs.

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