Carlo

Reflections on this bill from a Dutch citizen who has closely followed this process for years. First: the old system. It was pretty simple: the government assumed that you make ~5% return on your assets per year. That return is then taxed (~35%). Assets include savings, stocks, crypto, etc. There is an exemption of ~€55.000 per person. Assets are measured on the 1st of January every year. Imagine you hold one bitcoin worth €75,000. Subtracting the exemption leaves €20,000 taxable. The government presumes a €1,000 return (5%), resulting in €360 tax (35%). In summary, this system is: - Very simple to understand - Low administrative burden - Advantageous to investors where ROI >5% - Disadvantageous to investors where ROI <5% Savers fall into that latter group. Years of sub-5% interest rates led the government to overestimate savers' returns. In 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that this was unlawful and that this needed to change. The government should calculate taxes based on the actual return on investment instead of the assumed return. At this point, I want to make a few things clear: - I don't mind paying taxes - I think the Supreme Court's decision was correct What I do mind is: - Tax on paper gains - Added administrative complexity for tax filings - The Government is not listening to the advice of the Netherlands’ highest advisory body on legislation - That the Tax Authority is pressuring the legislative process to make a quick decision - Making obviously bad legislative decisions And these are exactly the things that are happening. For some reason, the Government decided against a capital gains-like system and chose an unrealized capital gains system. This means that you pay tax on the paper profit you made during the year. Let's say you have one Bitcoin on January 1st, valued at €70.000. On December 31st, Bitcoin is at €115.000. A return of €45.000. Taxes to pay: €15.750 (35%). No exemption in the new bill. The problem: all your money is in Bitcoin. But that is not a problem! That is what I want! That is why I stacked every single Satoshi I could since 2016. The same goes for stocks, gold, silver, or real estate: the goal is to have as little fiat as possible! But in the short term, I have to pay €15.750 in taxes. In this example, it means I have to sell some of my Bitcoin (0.137 BTC, to be precise). After the tax, I'm left with 0.863 BTC (€99.245). So on paper I'm doing fine (from €70.000 to €99.245 in a year). But my underlying assets are diminishing (1BTC to 0.863 BTC). The amount of Bitcoin, stocks, and gold in my portfolio is decreasing each year. This creates a dilemma: I don’t want to sell. I expect bitcoin, stocks, and gold to rise over time. But I have to, because the Government demands it. The obvious better choice was to tax when people decide to take a profit. I don't really have a problem with paying taxes on my realized profit. When I decide to sell, instead of being forced to sell when I don't want to. I'm not the only one who thinks there are better options. The Council of State (the Netherlands’ highest advisory body on legislation): "Don't do it. It's too complex (for both the tax authority and the citizens). Look for alternatives." And still, the government marches on. And the House of Representatives 'reluctantly agrees'. What the fuck does that even mean? "Yeah, we also don't like this bill, but we still are going to sign it into law." It's batshit crazy. But it's where we are. That's what the quoted tweet is about. Not all is lost, though: - House of Representatives (2e kamer) still has to approve this bill (quote tweet is wrong here). - Senate (1e kamer) still has to approve. - The Tax Authority is unable to comply with this bill (too complex) - Complexity makes this bill filled with loopholes So, to sum it up: hopefully, Parliament comes to their senses and stops this monstrosity of a bill, and chooses one of the better options instead.