Shilpa

Health Care Worker from India

I moved to the Netherlands in early 2016 with my husband and toddler. I work for one the largest Health tech giants in the world, moved from India to this beautiful country. I and my husband are post graduates in Management. It wasn’t an easy decision as it came at the cost of my husband’s job. He quit his well-paying job in India to support me settle in the job and baby-sit while I carry on to build my career. Hence, leaving behind the comfort of raising our child with loving grandparents around, friends who were like family, we finally moved. While we embarked on to build another life in Netherlands, it left a huge emotional void in our parent’s lives which they are still dealing with.

8 years of 30% ruling was a deciding factor for us.  It took care of what we lost while moving, not entirely, but substantially. We trusted the government as being very considerate towards expats, for the fact that a policy like 30% ruling existed to help an expat compensate for the expenses borne in the initial years of settling in. 

My child integrated well with Dutch kids, picked up the language and we decided to stay on for a bit long, hence we invested in buying a house in Oct 2017. Needless to mention that mortgage was calculated keeping 30% ruling in consideration and that by 2024, we would be paying the mortgage with decent net income in hand.

The proposal of cutting down the years on 30% ruling has come as a blow. It’s 2018 and we are told that by 2021, it will be over, sounds like a cruel joke. After 2021, still paying the same mortgage but with lower net income, is it fair? As responsible expats, we abide by the rule book of this country, pay all city, municipality, auto and what not taxes etc. regularly. Isn’t it a symbiotic relationship where we are benefited from each other, truly a win-win situation? How come all of a sudden expats are seen as parasites, aren’t we contributing to the economy of this country.

The government as supreme head has all the rights and responsibilities to change or bring in a new rule or law for coming years, but applying them to those of us already here is totally injustice. I love this country, its culture and the people. I see my kid’s future here. I request the government to keep its promise and show it to the world that for a Dutch- a deal is a deal