The Dutch Government plans to increase the minimum wage by 10% next year, and will invest some 15,000 million euros to improve the purchasing power of the population against the effect of inflation, as agreed by the Executive this Wednesday in the budget memorandum of 2023.
The four center-right parties that make up the government coalition have reached an agreement this morning on the state budget for next year, and as usual at this time, the details have already begun to leak to the local press, before its presentation official in Prinsjesdag, the third Tuesday of September and beginning of the political course.
According to government sources told public television NOS and the newspaper AD, the increase in the minimum wage will come into force on January 1, it will be 10% and the increase will be done all at once, and not in three steps of just 2, 5% each, as previously planned. As the state pension is linked to the minimum wage, retirees will also benefit from this increase in 2023.
On the other hand, and although it does not plan to implement any policy changes to address the reduction in purchasing power this year, the Government does plan to reduce income tax for the lowest tax brackets next year, adds the ANP agency, which He talks about a tax increase for companies, energy companies and higher incomes to compensate.
Compensating for the loss of purchasing power will be a priority
The 15,000 million that will be dedicated to this package are double what the Dutch government spent this year to protect the purchasing power of low-income households, an increase that will seek in 2023 to compensate for inflation and the increase in the costs of the energy at low incomes.
The National Statistics Office (CBS) said today that inflation in the Netherlands reached a new high of 13.6% in August, up from 11.6% in July.
In addition, according to the forecasts of the central planning office (CPB), economic growth in the Netherlands will slow down in 2023: purchasing power will fall by 6.8% this year and child poverty could reach 9.5%, which that has pressured the Executive to take measures to relieve households.
“I have never seen data like this. This is dramatic… Especially for people who are already having a hard time and will soon be unable to pay their energy bills,” said CPB director Pieter Hasekamp, who believes the economy Dutch will probably only grow 1.1% next year, compared to 4.6% forecast for this 2022.
The budget is traditionally presented on the third Tuesday in September, on a day known as Prinsjesdag (Prince’s Day), and until then ministers will not be able to comment publicly on it.
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