Combat housing shortage with vacant home tax, Dutch politicians say

A possible tax on vacant properties is generating interest among members of the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament, where concern about the ongoing housing shortage in the Netherlands has been at a high level for years. Despite political efforts, stagnating construction remains an issue.

During a debate with Housing Minister Hugo de Jonge on Thursday, MPs from left to right suggested proposals that could stimulate housing construction and help resolve the shortage of available homes. However, almost all of these take time, and decisions about drastic and expensive measures must be made by the parties trying to form a new Cabinet, De Jonge warned.

D66 and SP believe that vacancy must be tackled more seriously through the introduction of a vacancy tax. "Better use of existing buildings is a quick solution to the housing shortage," said D66 MP Jan Paternotte. Such a tax is "an incentive to renovate faster," he argued.

An earlier attempt to introduce a vacancy tax failed in Parliament. Sandra Beckerman (SP) hopes that there will be sufficient support this time around.

PVV, VVD and NSC in particular are concerned about large investors who have been ignoring the housing market for some time. The three parties have been trying to form a Cabinet with BBB since the November election.

The transfer tax of more than 10 percent is a "stumbling block" for pension funds, said PVV MP Barry Madlener. De Jonge also acknowledged that this tax is "the biggest bone in the throat of investors.”

The tax will be re-evaluated with proposals to adjust it. It will be up to the next Cabinet to make a decision about this, De Jonge said.

The ChristianUnie and SP want to abolish the profit tax that housing associations now have to pay. Housing associations must be able to build as much as possible and therefore have as much space to make investments, MPs from both factions argued. The SP also wants to scrap corporate tax for those social housing firms.

According to De Jonge, scrapping both taxes will cost the treasury 1.5 billion euros. "That choice is really for the Cabinet formation table,” he said, arguing it was too severe a measure for a caretaker Cabinet.

It became clear during the debate that a majority in Parliament is in favor of the introduction of a future land planning tax benefit tax for property owners. According to the Tweede Kamer, this is also an opportunity to stimulate housing construction.

This could be implemented against the rising land value if the purposeful use of land changes, such as when an agricultural property is approved for use as a residential destination. The Tweede Kamer expects that this will reduce land prices and prevent land speculation.