When you want to keep your tax bill as low as possible, it is crucial to plan as much as possible in advance. Tax planning makes it much easier to reduce your tax burden than taking certain positions (if at all possible) after the facts occurred. Generally speaking, in most countries, there are two ways to reduce your tax bill. First is to make use of an expatriate tax regime. Relevant examples exist in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, France, Denmark etc. Also, some countries have beneficial tax planning possibilities when you have international duties. It may allow you to spread income over various tax jurisdictions, utilising lower tax rates.
In the Netherlands, there is a top tax rate of 49.5% Why is this so high?
First of all, when you qualify for the 30% ruling, the rate is only 34.65%. Second, the Netherlands may have a reasonably high top rate; it has a tax-friendly taxable basis. For example, the Netherlands does not tax capital gains.
