The number of people closing down their company rose by 37% in the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period last year, according to Chamber of Commerce figures.

In total, almost 61,000 firms were closed, around 75% of which were one-person businesses.

The number of freelancers shutting down their operations has soared since the tax office announced stricter checks on sham self-employment at the start of the year.

In the first three months, the number of self-employed people working in farming and market gardening who closed their businesses rose by 90%. Among healthcare workers the increase was 72%, while in the construction sector it was 50%.

The number of new company registrations also fell by 17% to 60,000 — the biggest decline in 10 years, the Chamber of Commerce said.

Around 1.2 million people in the Netherlands currently work as freelancers .

Earlier this month coalition party VVD joined forces with three opposition groups to draft legislation clarifying what constitutes self-employment.

They argue that the tax office’s decision to step up checks has caused considerable unease among both freelancers and their clients, and that the legal definition remains too vague.

The parties also claim that companies are increasingly reluctant to work with freelancers for fear of being fined. The new law is intended to offer legal certainty to both freelancers and employers.