Today (9:00 – 10:00), representatives of a broad alliance of organisations from culture, sports, events, media, books and accommodation will hand out an embarrassing receipt to members of parliament. These confrontational financial figures show what every Dutch person will soon pay extra if the VAT increase goes through.

“This bill will soon be literally hanging over the head of every Dutchman,” the alliance warns. It is a cry for help from sectors that fear for the well-being and quality of life in the Netherlands. “Sport, culture, relaxation and reading are not a superfluous luxury, but essential for all of us,” the alliance stresses. “Now a large part of the population is at risk of being forced to drop out, with all its consequences.”

The alliance calls on politicians to act now and stop this burden increase now. There is still hope: a broad coalition of parties has tabled a motion to stop this tax increase. Ultimately, of course, the allies want the measure off the table altogether. This will be voted on in the Lower House tonight. 

Dutch pay the price for ill-considered VAT increase

The VAT increase particularly affects the middle class and people with small wallets. From a economic analysis shows that the VAT increase will lead to 1.5 million fewer visits to festivals and 900,000 fewer visits to performing arts and 800,00 fewer visits to museums. 4 million fewer books will be sold each year and 150,000 people will cancel their library subscriptions. 500,000 people risk quitting sports. And football will lose an annual investment of €7 million. Instead of making sport more expensive, we should invest in healthy and active lifestyles. In addition, 82% of self-employed people in the culture and media sector expect the VAT measure to hit them in their income. News organisations expect hundreds of thousands of Dutch people to kiss their subscriptions goodbye. 

The government itself assumes that the VAT increase on lodging will lead to a decrease in lodging by 6.75%. This will be 4.2 million fewer overnight stays in the Netherlands. The price increase will lead to large groups being forced to drop out, with all its social consequences, such as declining health and reading skills. In addition, there will be fewer opportunities for much-needed relaxation, such as a weekend trip or football match, visiting a festival or a theatre/concert hall. Ultimately, this is at the expense of our well-being, health and the quality of life in the Netherlands.

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