Dutch Cabinet Has No Majority on Tax Move to Appease Shell
Dutch Government Weighs Tax Changes in Bid to Stop Shell’s Exit
(Bloomberg) -- The Dutch government won’t have a majority in parliament that would back scrapping a dividend tax in a bid to stop Royal Dutch Shell Plc moving its headquarters from The Hague to London, newspaper Algemeen Dagblad reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation.
Coalition partners D66 and ChristenUnie of Mark Rutte’s caretaker administration oppose the plan while the labor party PvdA and GroenLinks also aren’t in favor of it, the paper reported.
Rutte’s administration was willing to consider scrapping a 15% witholding tax, but isn’t optimistic about garnering the necessary support, according to a person briefed on the discussion, who asked not be identified talking about private deliberations.
The plan was earlier reported by Dutch broadcaster RTL News.
Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, said Monday that it planned to eliminate its current dual share structure, drop “Royal Dutch” from its name, relocate its tax residence to the U.K. and move its top executives from The Hague to London. The Dutch government immediately said it was “unpleasantly surprised” by the announcement.
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