The Netherlands: New Dutch coalition to cut 30% ruling for Expats from eight to five years - by Robin Pascoe

The new Dutch government plans to reduce the tax break for expats known as the 30% ruling, according to the coalition agreement published on Tuesday.

In the section on ‘a competitive place to do business’, the four-party alliance say they will ‘limit the tax advantages for expats’, before going on to explain that international workers will only be able to benefit from the ruling for five years, rather than eight as at present.

A report for the finance ministry published this June said that the ruling is too generous and its provisions could be reduced, while recognising its importance to attract top talents.

Some 60,000 people currently claim the tax break, which effectively means they do not pay tax on the first 30% of their salary. This, the report concludes, cost the treasury some €755m in 2015 and is set to cost €902 in 2017.

To claim the ruling, expats have to earn nearly €53,000 a year (or €37,000 after the 30% has been deducted) and must have lived at least 150 kilometres from a border with the Netherlands, effectively ruling out Germans and Belgians.

Read more:New Dutch coalition to cut 30% ruling from eight to five years - DutchNews.nl

Expats: the world’s most welcoming countries - by Lindsey Galloway

For many expats, finding new friends can ease the often overwhelming task of adjusting to a new life abroad. But with huge variances in local culture and language capabilities, some places can definitely feel more welcoming than others.

To determine where expats might find the best success of fitting in fast, global community network InterNations recently conducted their annual Expat Insider survey of more than 14,000 expats from 191 countries, asking residents to rate a number of aspects about life abroad, including how easy it was to settle in, a country’s friendliness and ease of making friends.

We talked to residents in the countries ranked high for friendliness to find out what makes these places so hospitable to newcomers.

Read more: BBC - Travel - Living in… the world’s most welcoming countries