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The Dutch minority cabinet has agreed on a revised 2027 budget and made new concessions to try to win parliamentary support for its tax plan, which it has not secured yet. Even with these changes, a majority is still uncertain. The government is now relying on a parliamentary debate on Wednesday to get its plans approved.
What has changed
During an extra cabinet meeting (ministerraad) on Tuesday morning, the coalition parties D66, VVD, and CDA approved the adjustments that their leaders had agreed on the night before. Two changes are especially important.
First, the cabinet is ready to increase support for households’ purchasing power (koopkracht) a bit more. Previously, it had set aside 350 million euros for this, but the new package adds more, with the prime minister describing the total concessions as “many hundreds of millions.”
Second, and more importantly, the cabinet wants to delay the start of its new Box 3 wealth tax by one year, moving it from 2028 to 2029. Box 3 is the part of the Dutch income-tax system that taxes income from savings and investments. The government has been trying to switch to a system based on actual returns, like a capital-gains tax. With this delay, savers and investors will still be taxed under the current rules in 2028.
Why the delay
The delay is a direct response to strong criticism from the Council of State (Raad van State), the government’s top advisory body, which said that starting the new system in 2028 was not realistic. Finance Minister Eelco Heinen (VVD) explained that it was always possible the start date could move from 2028 to 2029, depending on whether banks could provide the needed data in time. The Council of State even suggested 2030 would be better, but the coalition is not going that far. This one-year delay will cost the state an estimated 2.5 to 3 billion euros, as savers and investors stay under the current rules for another year.xt
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A gamble on the debate
The main issue is that the cabinet still does not have a guaranteed majority. Over the weekend, it tried to make a deal with opposition parties but did not succeed. This was partly because the parties want different things: left-wing parties like Pro (GroenLinks-PvdA) want lower taxes for workers and higher taxes on wealth, while right-wing parties have focused on issues like asylum and nitrogen, with some demands that Jetten has said are non-negotiable. The coalition has decided not to choose sides, instead making general concessions and leaving it to Wednesday’s debate, where MPs can suggest their own changes.
Ministers openly discussed the risks. Heinen said, “I am confident that this will lead to a majority,” but also admitted the approach is “full of risks.” Deputy PM Dilan Yesilgöz (VVD) said the plan is “supported by the centre” of parliament and hoped “the left and the right can join in,” but she also recognised that not having a guaranteed majority is “a risk.” Jetten called on “the entire House of Representatives” to support the plan “in this turbulent world.”
What happens next
Parliament will debate the package on Wednesday evening and is expected to vote on 12 November. Even if the cabinet manages to get a majority in the lower house, possibly with help from parties like ChristenUnie, 50PLUS, and the Markuszower group, there is still no majority in the Senate (Eerste Kamer), which also needs to approve the plan. There will be a separate debate on Box 3 next week. For households, the outcome (slightly more support for purchasing power and no new wealth-tax system until at least 2029) depends on whether the plan survives the next few days.