This week, the four forming parties presented the outline agreement "Hope, Guts and Pride. Business climate and competitiveness are high on the agreement's agenda. An important signal to the Dutch business community, which we at DUFAS welcome. At the same time we want to continue to urge a new cabinet to focus on stability, security and clear climate goals.
The agreement focuses on improving the Dutch business climate. To this end, a number of fiscal measures are being examined, among other things. In addition, the parties are committed to maintaining a strong competitive position within Europe. They want to prevent national 'headlines' in order to create a level playing field with other countries. As DUFAS we have been pleading for this for a long time and look at it positively.
The National Growth Fund is being phased out, while InvestNL is receiving a strengthening with an additional budget of €1 billion for the next three years. It is crucial that the government continues to invest in national innovation to stimulate the mixed financing of our economy.
Although reduced by 1.2 billion, the Climate Fund remains largely intact. DUFAS is part of the Climate Commitment and attaches great importance to continued commitment and adherence to clear goals. We want to emphasize that we continue to have clear and achievable goals in mind to ensure a sustainable future. This requires close cooperation and a government that dares to take a leading role.
It further states that several tax increases, including the tax on purchasing facility dividends, will be reversed. A rate reduction is also planned within Box 3 and the approach to money laundering will be strengthened. With regard to the new Pensions Future Act, no changes are planned, which we see as a positive sign for ensuring stability. It remains unclear what will happen to the scaling back of the expat scheme.
The parties are betting on many major policy changes. As DUFAS, we stress the importance of creating stability for business and society as a whole. It is essential to strengthen the competitive position of the Netherlands and continue to work together on the sustainability transitions in order to achieve financial security for every Dutchman. This is something we would like to discuss with a new cabinet.
