The Autumn 2003 Issue contains a.o. the following articles:

TAX

1998 - 2003 Taxes in the Netherlands
History and Developments
The first issue of The XPat Journal was born in 1998: five years ago! Have things changed in those years? For sure, they have!
What has changed tax-wise in those five years? Well, a lot!

In 1998, I was invited by the publisher to write an article for expatriates in the first issue of the brand new magazine. Subject: paying taxes in the Netherlands. It has not been too difficult in all those years to find a subject to discuss as, apparently, there is a lot to tell about Dutch taxation. Especially, the 35%-ruling – later on, the 30%-ruling – required much attention!
You may not have been living in Holland all that too long. In that case, it may be of interest to you to learn something about the quite dramatic change in our tax system in 2001. Maybe you have traveled with me in the XPat Journal through former and new tax rules until today. Then, maybe, you can conclude with me that – looking back – new rules are always threatening, but also that, in the end, we easily accept new rules and manage to live with them, even if they made us insecure in the beginning.
Rina Driece, e-mail: Rina.driece@loyensloeff.com

BUSINESS

New Dutch Code on Corporate Governance - The Power of Teeth
Although the corporate scandals of ENRON and Worldcom in the United States made the headlines in the Netherlands, most Dutch people were quick to think that similar cases of corporate fraud were unlikely in Dutch companies. This optimism, unfortunately, did not last very long. To be more precise, it lasted until the end of February 2003, when the news was made public that irregularities had been discovered in the books of Ahold, the internationally operating Dutch retail giant and owner of supermarket Albert Heijn. It proved to be a wake-up call for the private sector, and a fresh new start for a discussion on good corporate governance in the Netherlands.
In July, the commission Tabaksblat proposed a new code for corporate governance in the Netherlands, aimed at restoring trust and confidence in the private sector. In order to give the new code ‘ teeth’, the committee advises the government to lay down by law that companies need to comply or explain their non-compliance with the code. But will this new code, if adopted, actually lead to better management of Dutch companies? This article evaluates the power of new code by comparing the Dutch model with other systems of corporate governance in Europe and the US.
Marleen Dieleman, e-mail: m.dieleman@lusm.leidenuniv.nl

CULTURE

Five Dutch Years
Five years of the XPat Journal have gone by. 1998 – 2003. Several of the original readers will have already settled in totally different countries, perhaps for some time already, since the average expat posting lasts – so they say – three years. If those who left soon after XPJ’s first edition returned to Holland now, what differences might they notice? What has changed in Dutch society in just five years?
A short summary of Dutch cultural, political and societal developments over the past five years.
Jacob Vossestein