You would think that the cabinet cannot ignore a motion if it receives the support of a very large majority of 90 seats in parliament. But no, Mark Rutte always finds a goat path not to do something he does not want. This week he wrote to the House of Representatives that the motion asking for the Oranges to pay taxes – and which was therefore widely adopted – will not be implemented. Because, the prime minister reasoned, such a motion requires a constitutional amendment that requires a two-thirds majority. And you can’t achieve that with 90 seats in parliament. So you don’t even have to start.
The Oranges can consider themselves lucky to have such a prime minister. And with his party, the VVD. As long as the liberals are in power, the Oranges can feel safe. After all, the Constitution stipulates that the king, his predecessor and his successor do not pay wage and income tax. This therefore applies to Willem-Alexander, Beatrix and Amalia. And because spouses also fall under this scheme, Máxima does not pay any tax either. The rest of the extended family does, many of whom have demonstrated that they can take care of themselves.
Some people can be very concerned about the tax exemption of the royal family. But in practice it means little. Should politicians ever decide to have the king pay tax, as is the case in the United Kingdom, for example, the gross salary will be increased so that the net amount is equal to that of today. As taxpayers, we don’t get along financially. Moreover, those who pay taxes are also allowed to deduct expenses. Then we are probably more expensive.
Whether it concerns the palaces that are made available to the king for free, or his income, or the purchase of a speedboat or the maintenance of the Groene Draeck; it is always the money that causes commotion and fuels discussion about preserving an unelected head of state. When you talk about the monarchy, you also talk about the republic. For the non-Orange supporters in our country, such a discussion about whether or not to pay tax is always an argument to argue for the abolition of the royal family.
Rutte always tries to avoid that discussion by saying that the Netherlands is actually a republic with a president who always comes from the same family and we call him king. He said that again at his press conference on Friday. No one who could laugh about it; journalists have heard it before. But those who are new to the comment – and that applies to a lot of people – must have listened with a furrowed brow. A prime minister who also studied history should know better. Not everyone understands the Ruttian humor.
The royal family will not disappear any time soon, certainly not because it does not pay taxes. As long as the role of symbol of connection is fulfilled with verve, there is not much to worry about. But beware: in ten years as king, Willem-Alexander has also lost a lot of goodwill by giving the impression that he occasionally cares about what others think and goes his own way. The secret holiday to Greece, while the rest of the Netherlands responded to the cabinet’s call to stay at home because of corona, was a low point in that regard.
