MPs and Senators agree: King must pay taxes

The D66, SP, and PvdD submitted a proposal for the King’s exemption from income tax to be scrapped. For the first time, the required two-thirds majority support is within reach in both parliament and the Senate. So, King Willem-Alexander may soon also receive a blue envelope in his letterbox once a year.

“It is important that the King also pays income tax,” D66 parliamentarian Joost Sneller said to AD. “The teacher and the police officer do that too. Everyone in the Netherlands contributes to public facilities.”

The King’s tax exemption is regulated in the Constitution. That means that abolition requires a constitutional amendment, which needs the support of at least 100 of the 150 parliamentarians and 50 of the 75 senators. Those two-thirds majorities are now within reach for the first time.

The PVV, GroenLinks-PvdA, NSC, D66, BBB, SP, DENK, PvdD, Volt, and JA21 have previously spoken out in favor of the King paying tax on his income. After the parliamentary elections, these parties hold 112 of the 150 seats in the Tweede Kamer. In the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate, they hold at least 50 seats.

The D66, SP, and PvdD motion states that the tax exemption for members of the Royal House must be abolished. That includes King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, Princess Beatrix, and crown princess Amalia. Amalia has so far refused her benefits.

Notably, the motion also states that the Ministry of General Affairs must inform the Tweede Kamer about the steps it plans to take on this within four weeks after the new Prime Minister has taken office. According to Sneller, that is because the D66, SP, and PvdD have no confidence that outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte will actually implement the motion. “Rutte’s basic attitude here has always been: the less changes, the better.”