If you were to live in Holland

[ytrebil]

I’m sure some people on here may possibly know this, but I found it quite interesting after talking to a friend who has recently moved over to the UK.

First of all I was shocked at how expensive car prices are! They pay a luxury goods tax. So cars like the Audi Q7 (what he had) starts at over £100,000. I’m not sure what the amount of tax is, but I vaguely remember him saying it was 50% over basic cost. Pretty extortionate huh? As a result you very rarely see cars like 911’s in Holland – where as over here I see a lot of 911’s just on my commute to work.

Not only this but they pay around 60% tax on their top tier earnings. I think people who are on minimum wage still get taxed at around 25%. I’m not exactly sure on these numbers but they definitely get taxed A LOT heavier than we do and the price of ‘luxury’ items is also taxed at a much higher rate than us living in the UK. However, on the contrary I know they get help from the government paying a mortgage – again I’m not sure on numbers but it’s a lot easier to obtain a mortgage and they get some sort of rebate from the government. They also get a world class health service. My friend told me that when women are in labour they all get a dedicated room which is all modern and fully furnished. They also get support at home from nurses who make sure everything is done in preparation for the baby and they also care after the baby is born to make sure everything is okay. I don’t know how it works in the UK as I’ve not been through that experience but I’m sure it’s nothing like the care they receive in Holland. It’s also a lot easier to see a specialist and they don’t have the waits we do.

Overall from his opinion he thinks the system works way better in Holland. There’s more of a concentration on family well being and independence with the housing schemes they have in place. Sure they pay for it with their pay packet and heavy luxury goods tax but you can’t have one without the other.

I’d like to hear from those who can backup some more figures on the taxing and also experiences of those who have lived in Holland for a decent period of time.

[shirt]

re: car prices, you are talking about BPM, which is indeed a kick in the nuts taxwise, but bear in mind used car prices are higher to reflect this.

this link might help, but is down at the moment:
http://www.douane.nl/variabel/bpm/en/


personal income tax brackets are as follows:

EUR 0 - 17,319 = 1.8%
EUR 17,319 - 31,122 = 9.35%
EUR 31,122 - 53,064 = 42%
EUR 53,064 and above = 52%

social security is added onto the first 2 categories at a rate of 32.6% higher, making them 34.4 and 41.95% respectively.

other than that, there is also a health insurance premium of around 4%.

higher than uk yes, but imo not that extortionate if you are a uk high rate payer and factor in NI contributions, council tax etc.


re: mortgages, i don;t have info. to hand but yes you do get tax relief on mortgage interest. look into it, it makes a huge difference to monthly payments.
_______

i don't live in NL so can't make an informed comment, but have a few good friends living there and have had a couple of recent interviews for jobs out there myself.

i think the taxes are high but the cost of living is lower and the quality of life superior to the uk. transport is fantastic, and my friends' experiences of healthcare etc. have all been positive.

salaries also appear higher, the equivalent base salary for my position at our dutch site is 70% more than what i earn here due to the £'s demise.

if you go to NL on secondment, their is a thing called the 30% ruling, whereby your employer can pay you 30% of your salary as a tax free allowance for upto 10 years in country. this reduces your tax burden.

as i said i'm no expert, i just have my own research and my friends' experience to go on. try posting in the dutch forum if you need any more info., or try an expat forum such as expatica.

_____



ETA - you do see nice cars in NL, just not so many uber-flash ones. in my experience, you see a lot more classic cars that are in excellent/mint condition. i can virtually guarantee that in a walk round the 'dam or utrecht i will see a mint citroen ds, a volvo amazon, and at least a few alfa giulia gt juniors.

Edited by shirt on Monday 12th January 12:33

[ytrebil]

Thanks for that - far more indepth than I could have put it.

I guess with the higher prices people are more likely to have older cars and keep them in better condition.

[Eric Mc]

I bet they pay Council Tax or Rates in Holland too.

And whar are their VAT rates?

Do they have a Capital Gains Tax and, if so, are their homes exempt from CGT?

[shirt]

vat is 19%

cgt doesn't apply, though property and savings [apart from owner occupide property, pensions and certain investments] are taxed at 1.2% and dividends at 25%.

no idea re: council tax/rates. i am under the impression thats taken care of with income tax. could use clarification on this if anyone knows.

[V8mate]

It's just a socialist sliding scale which they are further along than us.

They pay more in so get more back; just wealth distribution designed to inhibit personal success (check out how low their highest income tax bracket starts) but create a social safety net at a much higher level.

[hugoagogo]

shirt said:

ETA - you do see nice cars in NL, just not so many uber-flash ones. in my experience, you see a lot more classic cars that are in excellent/mint condition. i can virtually guarantee that in a walk round the 'dam or utrecht i will see a mint citroen ds, a volvo amazon, and at least a few alfa giulia gt juniors.

I think in general they aren't so flash anyway, you don't see many very big houses, lots of quite wealthy people drive volvos or vws or suchlike
and they are tight as a duck's arse

[shirt]

forgot to mention:

transport to/from work is reimbursed by your employer, who i assume then claim from the government? you claim back public transport costs or the cash equivalent if you use your own car.

i am a bit of an NL fanboy

[V8mate]

shirt said:

forgot to mention:

transport to/from work is reimbursed by your employer, who i assume then claim from the government? you claim back public transport costs or the cash equivalent if you use your own car.

i am a bit of an NL fanboy

And where do you think the government gets the cash from?

[shirt]

V8mate said:

And where do you think the government gets the cash from?

gordon brown?

[FarleyRusk]

I live in Holland and have been here since 2001 - so only a couple of years to go before my 30% ruling finishes. I have a 2.0T Passat estate which cost the lease company about GBP 47k at current exchange rate, thanks mostly to the BPM component of the new price. On the plus side of car ownership, I am not obliged to have a car alarm or tracker for insurance purposes so it is relatively safe here I guess. Also you dont get points on your licence for minor offences such as 'just' running a red light camera or speeding by upto 20mph over the limit. In fact I don't know what you have to do to attact points, as I haven't done so until now.

The MIRAS scheme is still going strong in the Netherlands. As a result my net mortgage rate after staff discount and MIRAS is around 1.7% - which compares only 'slightly' favourably to the 5.25% I receive on my fixed interest deposits and 4.6% on my savings accounts with the same financial institution (my employer). I have a massive mortgage which was 125% of purchase price when we bought the house and has since been topped up by two home-improvement mortages, which also attract MIRAS. Owing to this tax rebate (which I have fully maximised), the effective take is considerably lower than my marginal 52% rate might suggest. Haven't worked it out, but it is under 30% I'd wager.

Anything else you need to know - just ask

[FarleyRusk]

to add : my council tax is under 700 squids a year for a decent-sized property (5bed semi)

[cloggy]

hugoagogo said:

and they are tight as a duck's arse

Another one for my 'list'.

[rude-boy]

cloggy said:

hugoagogo said:

and they are tight as a duck's arse

Another one for my 'list'.

They are also exceptionally generous and welcoming when plied/plying you with beer though

It's one of the few countries where at 6'3" I feel short when i'm there!

[V8mate]

rude-boy said:

cloggy said:

hugoagogo said:

and they are tight as a duck's arse

Another one for my 'list'.

They are also exceptionally generous and welcoming when plied/plying you with beer though

It's one of the few countries where at 6'3" I feel short when i'm there!

And that's just standing next to the girls!

[G'kar]

hugoagogo said:

I think in general they aren't so flash anyway

Yet the concept of curtains or blinds seem strangely alien.

Walk around in the evening and nearly every home seems to be proudly displaying it's living room and big screen TV to the world, even townhouses that are directly on the street.

In 2 years or so, I never quite got used to that.

[hugoagogo]

G'kar said:

hugoagogo said:

I think in general they aren't so flash anyway

Yet the concept of curtains or blinds seem strangely alien.

Walk around in the evening and nearly every home seems to be proudly displaying it's living room and big screen TV to the world, even townhouses that are directly on the street.

In 2 years or so, I never quite got used to that.

it's all part of the same thing

they don't like their neighbours to think bad of them, if they buy a top of the range merc or something, they are too flash
if they have curtains or blinds closed, they must have something to hide

[krusty]

My neighbor worked in the windows... she wasn’t bothered by it either, was just a job to her.

[shirt]

hugoagogo said:

G'kar said:

hugoagogo said:

I think in general they aren't so flash anyway

Yet the concept of curtains or blinds seem strangely alien.

Walk around in the evening and nearly every home seems to be proudly displaying it's living room and big screen TV to the world, even townhouses that are directly on the street.

In 2 years or so, I never quite got used to that.

it's all part of the same thing

they don't like their neighbours to think bad of them, if they buy a top of the range merc or something, they are too flash
if they have curtains or blinds closed, they must have something to hide

i've only really seen modern dutch housing in utrecht where my mate lives and around velsen. the living rooms facing the street had a band of obscure glass at eye level so you couldn't see in when walking past. i thought that was fairly neat.

[forza whites]

I lived in Holland for 12 months (Amstelveen), not all its cracked up to be, and a weekend in Amsterdam isn't a good indicator on living in the place can be.