Mixed reactions to budget update; Trade union & education furious

The government’s adjustments to the national budget in the spring memorandum have led to some mixed reactions. Working Dutch are paying the bill for the government's "little gifts," trade union CVN said. Municipalities are glad for more money, but will have to push almost the entire extra 3 billion euros into youth care. Education unions are furious about further cuts. Childcare organizations have mixed feelings about basically free childcare getting postponed again.

CNV

Working Dutch people are footing the bill for “small gifts” that the government is giving away,” said CNV. Trade union chairman Piet Fortuni said he is “grumpy” about the multiple measures that hit employees in the wallet.

For example, the government is raising more money from income taxes to maintain a low VAT rate for culture, sports, and the media. The income tax brackets are not increasing with inflation, which means that more people end up in a higher bracket after a salary increase.

“In addition, the reduction of the unemployment benefits is at the expense of the most vulnerable group on the labor market, the over-45s,” said Fortuin. “In the meantime, the major issues that cost a lot of money have been postponed. Nitrogen and the state of industry, nothing has been done about that.” According to him, the annual 200 million euros for an improvement of the disability benefits system is far too little. “If you really want to reform that, you need 2 billion euros.”

Municipalities

The almost 3 billion euros extra that the government has arranged for municipalities in the coming two years will largely go to youth care. Municipalities have been responsible for implementing youth care since 2015, with money from the government. But according to the municipalities, the government funding has not been sufficient for years because the demand for youth care has increased enormously. As a result, the municipalities have incurred a significant deficit. The government wants to introduce a personal contribution for youth care from 2028.

The government also planned to pay 2.3 billion euros less into the municipal fund next year. This extra money, increasing from 414 million euros this year to 1.3 billion in 2026 and almost 1.4 billion in 2027, will partly eliminate that deficit.

Education

The cuts in education are mismanagement, chairman Thijs Roovers of the general education (AOb) responded to the government’s intention to scrap a scheme from 2028 that is intended to help vulnerable pupils. According to Roovers, this will cost society a lot more in the future. “I am really furious.”

Roovers had hoped that the Minister and State Secretary of Education would protect the rights of children. “This is like stealing candy from a child,” he said. “Children do not have lobby groups.”

State Secretary Mariëlle Paul (VVD) said earlier on Friday that she understood the anger. “Fuck off with your understanding,” Roovers responded. Paul and Minister Eppo Bruins (NSC) want to talk to the sectors to share the burden. Roovers doesn’t think that will be a pleasant conversation.

Childcare

Childcare organizations have mixed reactions to the government’s decision to postpone the reimbursement of almost all childcare costs from 2027 to 2029. The Childcare Industry Association (BK) called it a “sensible decision,” while the Social Childcare Industry Association (BMK) is “flabbergasted” by the postponement.

One of the agreements in the coalition agreement was to reimburse 96 percent of childcare from 2027. The spring memorandum now stated that more time was needed to introduce the new system. The postponement also generates money that the government is investing elsewhere.

“A major system change like this requires careful preparation and implementation,” the BK said. “Without a solid foundation, the risk of errors is high. This is also an important reason why postponement was inevitable: the implementation is still far from being arranged.” The BK believes that free childcare in 2027 was “not realistic.”

Karen Strengers, chair of the BMK, criticized the fact that the measure was postponed again. “A new system, with simple, almost free childcare for working parents, was announced for 2025. The introduction of this new system was then postponed to 2027, and now the government has opted for another two-year postponement. The promise to parents and childcare organizations is again not being kept.”

According to the BMK, childcare organizations have recently invested in staff, training, and locations to prepare for a growing demand. “Due to the postponement, that growth is now failing to materialize, while costs are rising and the future is once again uncertain.”

The BK looks at it differently and warns again that virtually free childcare will lead to more registrations than the sector can currently handle. “Although the shortage in the sector is currently stabilizing in some places, the long-term forecasts are worrying. The influx of new pedagogical professionals is lagging behind, and the need for childcare will grow in the new system."

Startups

Techleap, the interest group for startups, is “extremely pleased” that the government is reducing the tax on share rewards for employees of young companies. This will allow innovative companies in the Netherlands to compete well with foreign countries in the battle for highly qualified personnel, said Myrthe Hooijman of Techleap.

Startups often have little income at the start and therefore often reward employees with a share interest in the company. In the Netherlands, this is taxed as wages in box 1, which makes it less fiscally advantageous than shares from investors in box 2. The government wants a smaller part of the income from these employee shares to be taxed from 2027, so that the rates for box 1 and 2 are approximately the same.