The Netherlands has excellent information and communications technology (ICT) connectivity, a highly educated English-speaking workforce and a favourable business climate. All of these factors, in addition to its strong domestic market and access to the rest of the European Union (EU), contribute to the Netherlands being an attractive investment destination.  

The Dutch government strongly supports foreign businesses through The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), which offers advisory services to businesses at every stage of their operations in the country. The Netherlands has a large and interconnected financial system and the Dutch government has signed tax treaties with more than 100 countries, enabling investors from those countries to avoid double taxation on prescribed types of income, subject to complying with the relevant rules.  

Its main export partners are Belgium, China and Sweden. 

Corporate Treasury in the Netherlands 

The Netherlands is ranked as the 16th freest economy in the 2021 Index of Economic Freedom by the Heritage Foundation. It was one of the founding members of the EU. In this section, we highlight some of the key factors relevant to treasury and cash management in the Netherlands.  

Financial Market Development 

• The city of Amsterdam is ranked 28th in the 2021 Global Financial Centres Index by Z/Yen Group.  
• The Netherlands has an excellent business infrastructure, a highly educated and multilingual workforce and a sound legal environment.  
• There are no foreign-exchange controls in the Netherlands.  
• The central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank (Bank of the Netherlands or DNB), has a Sustainable Finance Platform through which the financial sector, supervisory authorities and government ministries can work together on sustainability initiatives and increase awareness of sustainable funding. 

Sophistication of Banking Systems 

• There are more than 40 domestic banks in the Netherlands, and 45 branches of foreign banks. 
• The Netherlands has a well-developed debt market with both government and corporate bonds available. Outstanding debt securities totalled USD2,403 billion at the end of 2020.  

  Regulatory Bodies 

• The banking industry is regulated by the DNB and the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). As a eurozone country, it is also covered by the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM).  

Tax 

• The corporate income tax rate is 15% on the first EUR245,000 of taxable income and 25% on taxable income above this amount. 
• Resident companies are subject to tax on their worldwide income, although certain income can be exempted. Non-resident companies are taxed on Dutch-sourced income. There is no branch profits remittance tax on the remittance of profits to the head office by the branch of a foreign company.  
• The standard rate for Value Added Tax (VAT) is 21%, with certain goods and services qualifying for rates of 0% or 9%, while others are VAT-exempt.  
• Interest income is taxed as ordinary income. Interest expenses are usually tax deductible, although the deduction of interest for intra-group loans is not allowed in certain circumstances under anti-abuse rules. There are no thin capitalisation rules in the Netherlands.  
• There are no stamp duties in the Netherlands. 
• The Netherlands does not levy capital gains tax on capital transactions.  
• There are generally no withholding taxes on interest, although a rate of 25% may be charged in certain circumstances. For resident companies, withholding tax (WHT) of 0% or 15% is charged on dividends. For non-resident companies from countries where there is no tax treaty, WHT on dividends is 15%. Where a treaty is in place and the non-resident can provide a Certificate of Residence, WHT on dividends ranges from 0% to 15%, and WHT on interest ranges from 0% to 25%.  
• The Netherlands has tax treaties with more than 100 countries and territories.  
• The Netherlands is a signatory to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement, through which information is exchanged between tax administrations, to provide a single, global picture on some key indicators of economic activity within multinational enterprises. 

Benefits for Regional Treasury Centres 

• Notional pooling and cash concentration are permitted between resident and non-resident accounts. Cross-currency pooling is also available.  
• The Netherlands is an established global and regional cash pool centre due to its extensive tax treaty network, advance pricing agreement opportunities and limited withholding tax system.  
• Offshore tax opportunities are available in the Dutch Caribbean islands of Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius, collectively known as the BES islands. They are categorised as special Dutch municipalities and have their own tax codes (i.e., real estate tax and revenue tax). It should be noted that if a company does not meet the residency requirements under BES island tax codes, the tax laws of the Netherlands shall apply instead.  
• The Netherlands is a eurozone country with trading hours that overlap with Asia, Europe and North America.