Budget Day 2024: What we know so far and what to expect

The first fans of the Dutch Royals are gathering at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague as the Netherlands gears up for Budget Day. An ANP reporter found a handful of people at the palace at 7:30 a.m. The Glass Coach taking the Royals to the King’s Budget Day speech will depart from there at around 1:00 p.m.

Well-known Oranje enthusiast Oscar Meijer from Amersfoort, dressed in a decorated sweater, told the news wire that he has been attending Budget Day since around 1983. He and fellow fan Els make a trip of it, spending the night in The Hague.

Ilonka Perfors from Hardenberg has also been coming to Noordeinde on Budget Day for several years. She comes to see the carriages and the Royal Family’s outfits, but this year, her tall black hat, decorated with orange feathers, also carries a note against the proposed VAT increase on culture, books, sports, and other things. “It is an important part of education, theater, reading a good book,” she told the news wire, calling it a “pity” that the government wants to make this more expensive.

The Glass Coach will depart from Noordeinde Palace at 1:00 p.m. to take King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, and crown princess Amalia to the Koninklijke Schouwburg in The Hague. This year, the King is giving his traditional Budget Day speech, written by the Cabinet, at the Koninklijke Schouwburg because the Binnenhof is still undergoing renovations. The speech will start at around 1:15 p.m.

After the speech announcing the government’s vision and plans for the coming year, the Royals will return to the Noordeinde Palace. At around 2:00 p.m., they will wave to the public from the balcony, ending the ceremonial part of the day.

Minister Eelco Heinen of Finance will deliver the national budget for next year to parliament at around 3:30 p.m. Tweede Kamer president Martin Bosma (PVV) will accept it.

As per tradition, many of the Cabinet’s budget plans already leaked to the press in the past weeks. Purchasing power will increase by 0.7 percent, lower than the 1.1 percent Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) previously calculated. This is because the Cabinet will postpone certain tax relief measures since the economy is doing relatively well. The tax ruling for expats, which means they don’t pay tax on 30 percent of their income, will be cut to 27 percent next year. And the government is implementing an extra bracket in the income tax so that everyone pays less tax on the first part of their income.

Also as per tradition, there will be several demonstrations in The Hague during Budget Day. This year, students, the association Kerk en Vrede, supporters of a republic, and opponents of the government have registered demonstrations with the municipality. Organizations from the culture, sports, media, and book sectors are also protesting against the planned VAT increase.

The Hague has designated protest locations on a road that runs parallel to the Lange Voorhout, which is on the route the Glass Coach will take to the King’s speech and back, on Lange Vijverberg near the Prime Minister’s office, and on Laan van Reagan en Gorbachev near Den Haag Central Station.