Labour: Royal family must pay taxes

By Janene Pieters on Tuesday, 13 October 2015 - 10:49
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The Royal Family ready to attend the King's Day festivities in Dordrecht (Picture: Twitter/@koninklijkhuis) Willem-Alexander, MaximaThe Royal Family ready to attend the King's Day 2015 festivities in Dordrecht (Picture: Twitter/@koninklijkhuis)

The PvdA wants the Dutch Royal Family to pay taxes on their income and assets. The party will be filing a motion on Wednesday asking Prime Minister Mark Rutte to end their tax exemptions.

Sources in The Hague confirmed this to broadcaster NOS. "Everyone must pay income and property taxes, including the king", PvdA parliamentarian Jeroen Recourt said to the broadcaster. "Exceptions do not fit a modern monarchy."

The discussion about whether or not King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Princess Beatrix should pay taxes has been going on for years. Prime Minister Mark Rutte is against imposing taxes on the Royal Family. According to him, the King holds a "special role" in the Netherlands and changing the law would lead to a "tremendous heap of administrative hassle".

This PvdA motion may well get a majority in the Tweede Kamer, lower house of parliament. According to NOS, opposition parties SP and D66 also want the law to change and the PVV stated in its election program that the Royal Family has to pay 20 percent income tax.

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