Higher wealth, dividend taxes to fund D66's €2 bil. plan to support middle-incomes

The D66 presented a plan to increase the purchasing power of middle-income households in the Netherlands on top of the government’s existing plan to support low-income families. The party’s plans will cost about 2 billion euros, which it wants to fund by increasing the wealth- and dividend tax and lowering fossil subsidies.

According to the D66, people with average incomes have seen their purchasing power decline significantly in recent years. The party wants to repair that by pushing 1 billion euros into the employment tax credit “and design this in such a way that people with an income between the statutory minimum wage and the average benefit the most.”

The D66 wants to give households a discount on their energy bill and pay for it by charging big polluters more by phasing out fossil subsidies. “Households, in particular, should be given more relief in their wallets when it comes to the energy tax they pay so that the burden of the transition we have to make does not fall entirely on them,” the party said.

The party also wants to increase the childcare allowance by 7 percent and the allowance for after-school care by 8.5 percent. “That brings the maximum hourly rate back in line with the average costs for childcare, leaving working parents with more money,” the party said. It eventually wants to achieve a system of free childcare. It called higher allowances an interim step towards that.

According to the D66, this package of measures puts more of the burden on the shoulders who can bear it better - high-income earners and big businesses. “It means working will pay more, and middle-income earners will have more money in their wallets,” the party said.