The richest 1% in the Netherlands pay relatively less tax than everyone else and their incomes have risen more sharply, according to new calculations by the government’s macro-economic forecasting agency CPB. 

Earlier research, based on figures from 2016, showed that people on the highest incomes pay less tax and the new figures, based on the period 2011 to 2019, paint a similar picture.

The very richest, or 0.01% of the population, paid a tax rate of some 28%, well below the 40% paid by people with average incomes who depend on salaries for the bulk of their disposable cash.

That is because the richest peoples’ income is largely based on company profits, and taxed as such, the CPB said.

The CPB figures take taxes and social security premiums into account in the calculations.

The research, carried out on behalf of the finance ministry, also showed that the average income enjoyed by those at the top rose by more than 70% over the nine years in the study, while the average income of the lowest 90% rose by just 5%.