This concerns the so-called Stap budget, which the cabinet opened on 1 March. The crowd was so great that people at the UWV ended up in the digital queue and the website was even down for a while. According to a UWV spokesperson, at one point 70,000 people tried to submit an application at the same time.
And that is more applications than there is money for. This year the cabinet has made 160 million euros available. This will be spread over five periods by the UWV, the first of which is now running. Those tens of millions of euros from this round have all been forgiven on Wednesday, a spokesperson expects. A new opportunity to apply for the budget will then follow in May.
deduction post
The Stap budget replaces the tax deduction for training, with which people could reclaim part of their costs via their tax return. “People like you and I could very well benefit from that,” says Minister Van Gennip (Social Affairs). But the deduction was not a solution for everyone, according to the CDA minister. “If you paid less tax, you couldn’t cash in as well. Moreover, you first had to advance the money and you only received it back from the tax authorities later. That is a barrier for many people.”
As a result, it is often self-reliant people who continue to develop, Van Gennip saw during her time in business. “We also hope to reach the group that would be less likely to take that step themselves.”
Anyone ‘with a relationship to the Dutch labor market’ can apply for the Stap budget. Also self-employed, emphasizes Van Gennip. The training must be career-oriented.