13-12-24, 17:51

Everyone will pay a little more tax in 2026 due to VAT hassle

Mail from the tax authorities. Photo for illustration. © ANP / Laurens van Putten

All workers will pay slightly more tax in 2026 to prevent the fuss about the VAT increase on culture, sports and books from costing the treasury money. This was reported by State Secretary Tjebbe van Oostenbruggen (Taxation) to the House of Representatives.

Domestic editorial staff 13-12-24, 17:51

The government wants to include concert and festival tickets under the high VAT rate from 2026. This would also apply to tickets purchased in 2025 for events taking place in 2026. However, the opposition fiercely opposed this proposal, which threatened to destroy the tax plan in the Senat

The cabinet has therefore promised the opposition to seriously look for an alternative in the spring. Van Oostenbruggen would not find it in line with the opposition’s wish to levy 21 percent VAT instead of 9 percent on tickets sold next year. That is why he is scrapping this so-called transitional law for the period from 1 January to 1 July. By then it should be clear how the VAT increase will end.

135 million euros

This intervention will cost the treasury 135 million euros. In order not to leave a hole in the budget, the cabinet has decided to temporarily increase the tax rate in the first and second bracket of income tax by 0.03 percentage points in 2026. In the worst case, this will cost workers more than twenty euros extra.

The temporary tax increase is a ‘technical implementation’ of the estimated loss of income, says a spokesperson for Van Oostenbruggen. If the parties succeed in finding an alternative to the VAT increase in the spring, which together involves more than 1 billion euros, the measure can be dropped again.

Kanawu Radio number 1 news portal

Everyone will pay a little more tax in 2026 due to VAT hassle

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