Doing business in the Netherlands

If you are considering setting up a business or opening an office in the Netherlands, several things have to be considered...

Mazars has prepared this ‘Doing business in the Netherlands’ guide which covers the following areas:

Knowing the Netherlands 

• Key facts and figures 
• A strong macroeconomic environment 
• Geography 
• A competitive infrastructure 
• Population 
• History 
• Political system 
• A stable political environment 
• International Memberships 
• Culture 

Economy 

• A supportive policy towards free enterprise and competition 
• Low barriers to foreign trade and low exchange controls 
• Good market opportunities 
• Policy towards Foreign investment 
• High level Financial system 

Legal environment 

• Corporation law 
• Financial Reporting 
• Management Board Report 
• Timeline for Financial Reporting 
• Exemptions in Financial Reporting 
• Group company exemption of section 403 
• Intermediate subconsolidation exemption of section 408 
• Mergers and Aquisitions 
• OOB 
• The audit profession 
• Labour law 
• Hiring 
• Subject to certain restrictions 
• Dismissal 
• Popular in the international labour market and a good local labour market 
• Open Labour Market 

Taxation 

• Introduction 
• Corporate income tax 
• Participation exemption 
• Fiscal unity 
• Functional currency 
• Investment vehicles 
• Research & development 
• Loss compensation 
• Transfer pricing 
• Non-deductible interest 
• Non-resident companies 
• Withholding taxes 
• Bilateral tax treaties of the Netherlands (as of January 2013) 
• Individual income tax rates (2013) 
• Expatriates 
• Value added tax (2013) 
• Dutch tax authorities 
• 30% allowance ruling