TAX RULES

Shipping is important for Dutch industry, but how long our country will continue to be a major player at sea remains to be seen. This is what researchers state in an as yet unpublished report by The Hague Center for Strategic Studies (HCSS), which is in the hands of the ANP and which De Telegraaf also reported on.

According to the researchers, it is important that the Netherlands maintains a grip on the maritime sector because of threats at sea from competing countries.

The introduction of stricter tax rules for large companies, for example, can make foreign companies beckon. The CEO of the maritime company Boskalis has already said that he is considering leaving the Netherlands. The report states that these kinds of signals also affect the attractiveness of the Netherlands as a location for large foreign companies.

The shortage of housing is also hampering shipbuilding. For example, a discussion has been raging for some time about whether a branch of the shipbuilding company Damen in Amsterdam should make way for housing.

The report mentions the tight labor market as another threat to the maritime sector. The shortage of technically trained people makes the Netherlands less and less attractive for shipbuilding. The researchers also state that there is a growing shortage of seafarers worldwide, including in the Netherlands.