Measures of BES tax plan

On Tues­day, Budget Day (“Prinsjes­dag”) in The Hague, the ‘Tax Plan Act 2027 was sub­mitted to the Dutch Parlia­ment. This bill still needs to be approved by the House of Representatives and Senate, after which it will take effect on January 1, 2027.

The Jetten Cabinet pro­poses two tax measures that are applicable on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (so-called BES islands). The proposals regard kilometre allowances and fuel duty.

The maximum amounts for car expenses, tax-free kilo­metre allowances and certain extraordinary expenses are increased from US $0.20 to $ 0.22 per kilometre. This also applies to the maximum tax-free allowance that em­ployers can reimburse to em­ployees.

The increase applies with retroactive effect from 1 Jan­uary 2026. Employers are not required to pay the higher al­lowance.

To limit the consequences of the higher fuel prices, it is proposed to temporarily reduce the duty on petrol in 2027:

Bonaire: 5.5 dollar cents per litre; St. Eustatius and Saba: 4.19 dollar cents per litre.

This temporary reduction is in place from January 1 up to and including 31 De­cember 2027. The proposed measures are part of the Tax Plan 2027 and still need to go through the further legisla­tive process.

The Daily Herald.