UPDATE FROM UENL COUNCIL MEETING

TOPIC: Updates from the UENL Council

DATE: 28 June

ACTION FOR YOU: Follow Action Points on Website

The UENL Council met on Tuesday night, and we wanted to share the main highlights from the meeting:

*Political
We have submitted an open letter to Menno Snel and the Finance Committee to share general updates, highlight more of YOUR personal stories, and ensure that our open dialogue continues. This letter will be published online in the coming days for you to review.

*Corporate
Work continues with many different companies here in the NL. Updates from the corporate space are a bit slower as these necessarily are often confidential in nature, but as we have official announcements, we will continue to share them here.

*Press
We are hoping for one or 2 stories during the summer recess period that highlight the personal side in more detail, and also ideally connect with an international audience. We are also considering increased placement of op-eds. If you have any suggested outlets, please do share this information with Jessica. Jessica can also assist you with an op-ed if you are considering to go this route. Also note that we are continuing to rely on the STORIES page of our website to help with sharing our side, so the more of these we have, the better.

*Planning
As a council, we have sketched out a detailed plan that highlights all of our next steps between now, Prinsjesdag, and beyond. This includes several different plans based on what we learn on Prinsjesdag. We will be sure to continue our practice of transparency with each step we take. And, we will be sure to notify you well in advance of any events that we organize.

*For You, For Now
As you wait, please do check out the Take Action section of our website where you can learn the many different things that you can do now to help aid our efforts.

Should you have any questions, of course, do not hesitate to contact any of the Council members. 

COALITION OF DUTCH TECH COMPANIES ANNOUNCES SUPPORT

A coalition of major Dutch tech companies including Booking.com, Adyen, TomTom, Bol.com, Coolblue, Dutch Startup Association, Takeaway.com, Catawiki, Marktplaats, StartupDelta have announced support for our initiative. These companies wrote a letter to the Dutch State Secretary of Finance Menno Snel. In this letter, they call upon the government to develop a fair transition regime for expats regarding the 30% ruling and unanimously asked government to keep the Netherlands a tech- and talent friendly country.

This letter was covered in multiple press outlets, most notably in Het Financieele Dagblad and DutchNews.nl.  We greatly appreciate the support of these companies. 

UENL - UPDATE FROM POLITICAL CHAIR

TOPIC: Political Update - Answering Your Questions

DATE: 11 June 2018

Dear all,

We have had several questions from this group asking for some indication / timeline of what will happen in the coming weeks. With this post, I would like to provide you an update – including the key milestones that are ahead of us.

1.     JUNE. We expect that the Belastingdienst will send out a letter (either to recipients or employers) indicating that the Government proposes to shorten the 30% ruling to 5 years as of January 2019. If directed to the employer, it is possible that the employer will share this information directly with you as well. This is a standard operating practice to serve statutory notice and should not create unnecessary panic.

2.     MID-JULY. Following the meeting of the Finance Committee on 31 May, the MPs assembled a list of questions directed to the secretary. The Government is expected to answer these questions by mid-July.

3.     MID-JULY – AUGUST. Summer break.

4.     18 SEPTEMBER – PRINSJESDAG: The Prince holds a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives to outline government policy and open the coming parliamentary sessions

5.     OCTOBER. The House of Representatives discusses the proposed legislation and, if adopted by a majority, sends it on to the Senate.

6.     NOVEMBER. The Senate accepts or rejects the legislative proposal.

7.     DECEMBER. If voted and adopted by both chambers, legislative proposals become laws. 

Based on the latest developments, we remain convinced that diplomacy will yield the best outcomes. Moreover, it is important to know that - until any law is enacted – there are no grounds for legal proceedings.

Having said that, we understand that many of you have questions about whether it is appropriate to seek advice or external counsel. Our efforts should not replace any actions that may be best for you and your family.  UENL is doing its utmost to voice your concerns, but as every case is unique, UENL recommends that you seek advice from a tax specialist or other external counsel to fully understand your own personal situation.

Finally, we are all in this together. We continuously seek your ideas, suggestions, and feedback. You can direct general information and press leads to Jessica, corporate-specific information to Engelbert, and political/legal information to Massi. All contact information is listed on the ABOUT section of our website.