The annual leak of the tax plans linked to the Budget Memorandum has begun. The Financieel Dagblad of 28 August 2015 reports that the governing parties have reached agreement on the new structure of income tax on income from savings and investments (box 3).
At present, a flat-rate return of 4% is calculated on the assets in Box 3, after deduction of the tax-free allowance of approximately €20,000 per taxpayer. Tax of 30% is payable on this amount.
The tax rate for 30% remains unchanged, but the allowance and the flat-rate return are being amended. The allowance is being increased to €25,000 per taxpayer. This allowance is also relevant to a number of schemes subject to a means test.
The flat-rate return depends on the amount of capital taxable under Box 3. To determine this, the capital in excess of the allowance is taken into account:
| Capable of: | Fixed rate of return: |
| € 100.000 | 2,90% |
| € 1.000.000 | 4,70% |
| Above that | 5,50% |
The flat-rate returns are then adjusted annually and based on the actual average returns for the five years preceding the tax year. For assets up to €100,000, the returns on savings balances are taken into account. For assets above €100,000, the average returns on a representative basket of shares are also taken into account.
Of course, the plans – which will only be officially announced by the Government on Prinsjesdag – still have to go through the political process.