Favourable tax climate

The corporate tax structure of the Netherlands is extremely business-friendly and since January 2007, the Dutch tax environment for international companies has become even more attractive.

The corporate tax rate has been lowered to 25.5%, which is well below the EU national average. For small firms, the tax rates stand at 20% for the first €200,000 of taxable profits. Dividend tax has been reduced from 25% to 15%. A patent box with a 10% tax rate on income from innovations was also introduced.

And that’s not all. There are several features of the Dutch tax system that give you enough reason to establish or expand your European operations in the Netherlands.

• The Netherlands has a wide tax treaty network that avoids instances of double taxation and reduces withholding taxes on dividends.
• The advance tax ruling practice ensures that companies know their future tax situation well in advance. Companies obtain a pre-determined tax ruling from Dutch tax authorities and taxes can be negotiated in advance for a specified number of years.
• Cash dividends, dividends-in-kind, bonus shares and all other benefits coming from a qualifying shareholding are exempt from tax. This feature of the tax system is referred to as the Participation Exemption.
• Highly-qualified foreign employees, who have knowledge and expertise that is in short supply in the Dutch labour market, get a 30% tax break. 
• Business losses can be carried back by a year and forward by nine years, enabling you to offset them against profits coming in those years.
• Outgoing interest and royalty payments do not attract withholding tax.