Left-wing parties want Shell to pay profit tax in Netherlands

The left-wing opposition parties GroenLinks, SP and PvdA want multinationals like Shell to pay profit tax in the Netherlands. They are submitting a bill to achieve this to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, later this week, NOS reports.

Currently large Dutch companies can still deduct losses they suffer abroad from the profit they made in the Netherlands. Newspaper Trouw previously reported that by doing so, Shell does not pay any profit tax at all in the Netherlands.

Previous attempts were made to change this regulation, but they all failed in the past, according to NOS. But GroenLinks parliamentarian Bart Snels is convinced that this bill will succeed. According to him, the "social climate" has changed. "People no longer accept this." He added that coalition parties are also now worried about the current regulation and he hopes to get support from the D66 and ChristenUnie on this bill.