Capital gains tax in The Netherlands: a short update
Last December the Dutch supreme Court decided that the levying of so-called ‘savings tax’ is contrary to the law. This Capital gains tax by the Tax Authorities had savers paying tax on a fictitious return on their assets, which was often (much) higher than the actual return. The actual return – that's how the judge decided – and not a fictitious one should be taxed. As a result of this ruling, savers must be compensated.
Retroactively compensating for the unjustified capital return turns out to be an extraordinarily complex operation. It is not clear who exactly is entitled to compensation and what the actual return was on their savings and investments. Furthermore, the ICT capacity of the Tax Authorities is insufficiently equipped to revise the declarations.
If you yourself are among the 3 million people who pay tax in box 3, and have paid savings tax in recent years, the question remains whether and when you will be compensated.
For the time being, the Tax and Customs Administration will continue to tax fictitious returns: In 2022, there will be three brackets for calculating the fictitious return. You pay 31% income tax on the assumed proceeds of savings.