On 5 October, 2018 Peter Kavelaars, Professor Fiscal Economics at Erasmus School of Economics, was a guest on Ask me anything, a program by BNR Nieuwsradio, to discuss the news that Unilever will not move. According to Kavelaars, this message is good for tax purposes. ‘As a result, the chance that the dividend tax will continue to exist will probably increase, which to me is not seen as a bad development. The money that is gained by this can be invested in much nicer and other ways, for a good business climate.’
‘For the business climate, it would be much better to take other measures, such as further reduction in corporation tax. This would be a useful investment, which would benefit a much larger part of the Dutch business community,’ says Kavelaars.
In program Ask me anything, listeners can ask questions about the subject. One of the questions concerned the fact that there is only a dispute about the abolition or retention of the dividend tax, and there is no discussion on the reduction so that the dividend tax would be more in line with surrounding countries. Kavelaars finds that such a reduction is an option, but he is not in favour of such an alternative. ‘It is only an advantage for foreign companies. A reduction, or abolition, also ensures that an important part ends up with the foreign governments. This would not benefit anyone in The Netherlands at all.’
- More information
For more information, listen to the entire show of BNR Nieuwsradio, 5 October 2018 (in Dutch).