2013 Income criteria for Knowledge Migrants

Tuesday, 18 December 2012 15:00

The salary criteria for knowledge migrants for the upcoming new year have been revised as follows:
30 and older: EUR 52,010 (was EUR 51,239)
Younger than 30:  EUR 38,141 (was EUR 37,575)

The salary criterium for students who graduated in the Netherlands and will be working as Knowledge Migrants has been revised to EUR 27,336 (was EUR 26,931).

In case an application for a temporary visa ("MVV") is filed with the Immigration & Naturalisation Office ("IND") before 1 January 2013, the salary criteria for 2012 will be applicable also in case an application for a residence permit is filed after 1 January 2013.

EXTERUS and the Dutch tax authorities sign agreement regarding 30%-ruling

Wednesday, 03 October 2012 09:00

Effective 1 October 2012 EXTERUS and the Dutch tax authorities/foreigners office have entered into an agreement concerning the 30%-ruling applications that are filed on behalf of clients of EXTERUS. The agreement applies to employments commencing on or after 1 January 2012.

The so called 30%-ruling is applicable to skilled employees who are recruited from abroad to work in the Netherlands. In case an employee qualifies for the 30%-ruling then the employer can pay a tax-free allowance of max. 30% of the wage during a period of max. 8 years.

Under this agreement EXTERUS will judge if the employee meets the conditions laid down in Dutch tax law and after a positive judgment the Dutch tax authorities will (acceleratedly) grant the 30%-ruling.

Benefit of this agreement is that clients can have significantly faster certainty whether or not the 30%-ruling can be applied. The formal written decision will be provided by the Dutch tax authorities within approximately 1 week. Further, the agreement provides for easy consultation with the Dutch tax authorities in case of special situations, resulting in quick certainty if the 30%-ruling can be applied or not.

In case you wish to receive further information, please feel free to contact us.

Compulsory registration for companies assigning personnel to third parties

Wednesday, 15 August 2012 09:00

Do you supply personnel against payment to a third party? Or do you hire personnel from a third party to work under your authority? Please note that as of 1 July 2012, briefly summarized, a registration with the Chamber of Commerce of every company that assigns employees is required. Fines for not registering or for hiring from a non-registered company are imposed. Further details are set out below.

Read more: Compulsory registration for companies assigning personnel to third parties

Crisis levy of 16%

Wednesday, 01 August 2012 09:00

On the 10th of July the Senate of the Dutch Parliament has accepted the legislative Budget proposals 2013. With this also a temporary crisis tax levy of 16% is introduced.

Final tax levy on income exceeding EUR 150,000
In short in the year 2013 the employer has to pay an additional final tax levy of 16% on income paid in the year 2012 exceeding EUR 150.000. Because of the fact that it is a final tax levy the levy is an employer burden. The final tax levy needs to be paid via the wage tax return for the month March 2013. The income concerns income from present employment only and as such severance payments can be excluded. However, bonuses paid in 2012 or for example a one-time realized benefit from a stock-option plan in 2012 will be taken into account.

The final tax levy is applicable only to employers and not to self-employed persons. In case an employment relation is transferred into a self-employment contract during the year 2012, then also the self-employment income is taken into account.

Judgement per employer
Whether or not an employee has earned more than EUR 150.000 income is judged per employer: for an employee who has received EUR 250.000 from 2 employers (EUR 125.000 per employer) no final tax levy is due. There is an exception to this in case the employers are part of a group of companies: in that case the total accumulated income is relevant and the employer who has paid the majority of the accumulated income has to pay the final tax levy on the accumulated income. Also foreign income can be relevant, provided that this income has been subject to Dutch taxation.

The income is not recalculated time-proportionally in case the employee has not been employed for a full year. It can so happen that no final tax levy is due for an employee who has earned less than EUR 150.000 in a period of 11 months, while a final tax levy is due for an employee who has earned more than EUR 150.000 in a period of 3 months.

Cumulation with other levies
The temporary 16%-crisis tax levy can accumulate with the final tax levy that applies to excessive severance payments (currently 30% and 75% as of 2013). As a result the employer can be confronted with an additional burden of 46% (or even 91% as of 2013). It goes without saying that this is besides the maximum 52% income tax that is already due from the employee.

The introduction of the crisis tax levy can have significant (financial) consequences for employers and it is recommended to find out how this effects your company: perhaps it is possible to postpone payments or to trade, within the applicable tax framework, taxable income for non-taxable reimbursements, to avoid or reduce the 16% final tax levy. Of course we would be pleased to assist you.

Short stay as a Highly Skilled Migrant

Wednesday, 07 December 2011 09:00

From 1 January 2012 onwards the Highly Skilled Migrant program will also be available for migrants working in the Netherlands less than three months.

Only employers admitted to the Highly Skilled Migrant will be allowed to this program. The salary criterion is EUR 51.239 (during 2012) gross annually based on the criteria for migrants as from 30 years of age and will be calculated on a pro rata basis.

A work permit is required and the Labor Authorities expect to issue the permit within two weeks after submitting the application and having assessed the job function. The priority test for EU citizens does not apply and also the five week term for advertising the vacancy is not applicable.

The ruling will be initially for two years and after the probation period it could be extended for an indefinite period of time.