Majority in parliament want King to pay tax on his income

A parliamentary majority wants the King, his intended successor, the retired monarch, and any spouses to pay wage or income tax on the government benefits they receive. The Tweede Kamer adopted a motion by DENK, asking the government to prepare a constitutional amendment to this end, on Tuesday.

The parties that supported the motion included coalition party D66, the PVV, PvdA, GroenLinks, SP, FvD, Volt, BIJ1, and Groep Van Haga. Prime Minister Mark Rutte had advised against the motion last week during a debate on the Royal House’s budget.

King Willem-Alexander, King Maxima, crown princess Amalia, and princess Beatrix - the retired queen - currently have an exemption from taxes under Article 40 of the Constitution. The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, wants to get rid of that exemption so that the Royals pay tax like everyone else.

Amending the constitution is a complicated and lengthy process. Both the Tweede Kamer and the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate, need to vote on it twice, with elections in between. And the second vote needs to win with a two-thirds majority.

About the same parties also supported a motion by the PvdD saying that “it would show Royal allure if the King renounced the increase in his allowance.” In 2023, the allowance will increase by 276,000 euros to over 6.4 million euros. PvdD parliamentarian Frank Wassenberg believes that the King can waive this increase, seeing as many Netherlands residents are experiencing financial difficulties due to rising inflation and energy costs.