News item | 21-11-2023 | 10:50
Since this year, some people with Wajong benefits are no longer eligible for remission of municipal and water board taxes. As a result, their purchasing power is at risk of declining, while their benefit position has not changed. Minister Carola Schouten (Poverty Policy, Participation and Pensions) has asked municipalities and water boards not to collect these taxes for this group.
Residents who have an income equal to social assistance or less and have no assets usually receive remission of municipal and water board taxes from municipalities and water boards. However, due to the additional increase in the statutory minimum wage, a number of Wajongers will have an income that is too high for remission from this year onwards. Municipalities, water boards and the National Ombudsman raised the alarm about this unintended effect of the government’s purchasing power measures.
A temporary solution has now been found for this. This means that municipalities and water boards do not have to have relevant Wajong beneficiaries pay local taxes in 2023 and 2024. In some cases, remission does not apply, for example if someone has assets. The government is working on a structural solution by 2025.