This year, the government will no longer provide an extra allowance for the poorest households. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said this on Friday during his press conference after the Council of Ministers. The allowance would be due to the sharp rise in living costs.
The left-wing opposition had argued for an extra surcharge of 500 euros, but earlier this week indicated that it no longer counted on it.
Earlier, Rutte and Minister Sigrid Kaag (Finance) indicated that they would like a one-off extra energy allowance of 500 euros for everyone with a health care allowance.
Rutte states that the cabinet has looked “very seriously” at all proposals from the opposition for further purchasing power repair. But implementing organizations have indicated that they would not be able to handle any more changes in a current year.
The payment of regular benefits and allowances could even be at risk, according to the Prime Minister.
He said that it is looking at how these households can be helped extra next year. He also pointed out that the cabinet is already allocating more than 6 billion euros this year to compensate people for the increased costs of energy, fuel and groceries. According to Rutte, that amount of income support and tax relief is among the highest in Europe.