MessageBird Shares UENL Perspective

Communication provider MessageBird published an op-ed in Het Parool in which they share UENL’s perspective that, at minimum, transitional regulation should be included in the 30Rule legislation. As Mayke Nagtegaal and Robert Vis, respectively coo and founder / CEO of MessageBird, write:

“Voor ons staat voorop dat de 30 procentregeling niet op de schop hoeft. Deze regeling maakt ons land interessant als vestigingsplaats voor talent dat hard nodig is om onze economie duurzaam te laten groeien. Maar mocht een Kamermeerderheid een aanpassing goedkeuren, dan is een uitzonderingspositie voor bestaande gevallen vanuit het oogpunt van rechtszekerheid het minste wat de Tweede Kamer kan doen.”

Similarly, in an open letter published on 17 September, Nagtegaal and Vis wrote:

The time is now for the Netherlands to double down on policy to reinforce our reputation as a magnet for tech talent and innovation. Instead, we’re about to take a step backward — by changing the 30% tax incentive for expats from eight to five years. Even worse, the change wouldn’t just be applied to new workers, but those who have already been living, working and contributing to our local economy here for years — risking our international business reputation as a place that promises one thing to workers, but does another.

Thank you, MessageBird, for sharing your voice. #aDEALisaDEAL

UENL Stichting Hires Stibbe N.V. for Legal Services

On Tuesday 18 September, the government announced that it plans to decrease the duration of the 30% tax rule for highly-skilled international employees to 5 years and that this policy will not include a transition period for current recipients. UENL Stichting sees this as an ill-planned, harsh, and unfair policy that will dramatically affect the lives of thousands of expats and their families. These current recipients are suddenly faced with a significant salary decrease and the very real fear that comes with being unable to meet their financial obligations. Not only is it grossly unfair to change the rules of the game while it’s still being played, a law that lacks standard transitional measures may violate Dutch and European law. UENL has hired the law firm Stibbe N.V. to draft a legal document to investigate whether the Government can legally implement the proposed change.

An Award-Winning Law firm, A Strong Community of Support

Stibbe N.V. (‘Stibbe Amsterdam’) is part of an international network of offices in Amsterdam, Brussels, Dubai, London, Luxembourg, and New York. Stibbe N.V. has a history of fighting complex legal battles against the government.

As UENL spokeswoman Jessica Taylor Piotrowski notes “Stibbe N.V. has an impressive dossier with numerous examples of their commitment to causes similar to ours. We are confident that Stibbe Amsterdam will produce a rigorous and robust legal document for use during the upcoming Parliamentary debates. This would not be possible without the support of our UENL community who, together, raised sufficient funds to commission this work. We look forward to working with Stibbe N.V. in the weeks to come.”

UENL Corporate Chair

Since UENL’s inception, Engelbert Felberthann has served in the capacity of Corporate Chair – working to identify corporations and non-profit entities in the Netherlands that support the mission of UENL. He played a valuable role in the organization of UENL’s petition turnover in May and in encouraging numerous organizations across the Netherlands to make public statements in support of our efforts. Now that we have reached the next stage of our efforts - assessing the legality of the proposed budget - Engelbert will return his attention to other work. He will remain a member of the UENL community. We thank him for his efforts and dedication to our mission.