With a new year comes a host of law changes, new rules, and regulations to be implemented in the Netherlands. The Dutch government is enforcing dozens of these new laws as of January 1, 2021. Every year, NL Times compiles a roundup of these rule changes for non-Dutch speaking people.
An important basic income tax rate will fall slightly, minimum wage will rise slightly, and people with savings and investments will be able to claim a higher exemption from the income tax on Box 3 assets. All told there are about 15 different changes coming into effect next year, and nearly all of them will affect a person's net earnings and tax payments in 2021.
A 12 percent increase on the tax airline passengers pay when flying from Dutch airports, a change in the tax scheme on car purchases, and a tax discount for those buying an electric car with solar panels are among the seven different changes coming into effect next year. Classic car fans with a love for cars made before 1971 will no longer have to get their vehicles inspected.
Read more at:
60 new laws & rules take effect in the Netherlands from January 1 | NL Times
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Showing posts with label Change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Change. Show all posts
December 31, 2020
April 2, 2020
The future of work in the post-Covid-19 digital era – by Maria Mexi
On-line work: The coronavirus crisis has spurred the growth of online
work. The genie is not going back in the bottle and we must plan for a
future of ‘decent digiwork’.
Read more at:
https://www.socialeurope.eu/the-future-of-work-in-the-post-covid-19-digital-era
Read more at:
https://www.socialeurope.eu/the-future-of-work-in-the-post-covid-19-digital-era
April 4, 2018
Islam: The (Silent) Revolution of Muslim Women - Andrés Ortega
There is much speculation as to whether liberalizing moves, such as the ones undertaken in Saudi Arabia, are for real. To be sure, despite recent, very encouraging signs, the jury is still out on that matter.
But in a broader context, there are definite signs of progress across the Muslim world. Indications are that a veritable revolution is underway among women in such societies.
Of course, it is not an overt revolution, but a profound transformation that has great scope: Since the turn of the century, 50 million women in predominantly-Muslim countries have entered the labor market.
As Saadia Zahidi, a Pakistani member of the World Economic Forum’s Executive Committee and head of its initiative on Education, Gender and Work, argues in her well-researched book packed with concrete examples, Fifty Million Rising: The New Generation of Working Women Transforming the Muslim World, what is happening is a real “tsunami.”
It is true that working women still account for only one quarter of the female population of these societies. But as Saadia Zahidi states, “the increase in their numbers represents an economic and cultural shift of enormous magnitude. Fifteen million women are renegotiating their own and their families’ norms and values.”
To give one example, in Pakistan, only four million women worked out of a population of 107 million 1990. By now, while the population has since doubled, the number of women workers has risen fourfold.
We should also remember that the United States and Europe only managed this transformation half a century ago. Some decades ago, in countries like in Germany, women still needed the consent of their husbands to take up work. Sound familiar?
Research suggests that, once women reach a 30% share in a nation’s labor force, this constitutes a tipping point where things start to change. They now account for 31% of the workforce across the Islamic world.
Clearly, there are major differences among Muslim countries. Only six of them have laws protecting against discrimination on the grounds of sex in employment contracts: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mauritania, Morocco and Tajikistan.
And very often, although they can now study and work, these freedoms are not accompanied by basic freedoms for women. For example, rates of mobile phone ownership are significantly lower among women than among men in the majority of these societies.
In other words, it is a revolution that is by no means assured. It is “exponential, but not inevitable,” as Saadia Zahidi puts it. The forces of conservatism may push it back – as has already happened in some countries. Armed conflicts may thwart progress as well, as has occurred in Syria.
The type of education these young women are choosing also matters considerably. There are only five countries in the world with a higher proportion of women than men studying science, technology and engineering.
Two of them, Kuwait and Brunei, are predominantly Muslim. Half of the 18 countries where women constitute 40% of such students are Muslim, according to Zahidi.
Recent academic years in Egypt have seen almost 34% of the places in these subjects being taken by women, many of whom go on to pursue careers in the same fields, often as tech and online retailing entrepreneurs.
But if the trend continues, it will change many things. Just recall that in 2004, the sociologists Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris had convincingly argued that the real clash today’s world has to contend with was not one between civilizations, as Samuel Huntington had argued. They cast it as a clash between sexes, because of the often subservient role played by women, especially in the Muslim world.
Note EU-Digest: Great progress indeed for Muslim women, but unfortunately it also is a matter of the equality of men and women that needs to be addressed. The Koran was never modernized to reflect the equality of women in relation to men. In contrast to what was done during the Reformation for the Christian religion by Martin Luther against the doctrinal and oppressive Catholic Church based in Rome.
But in a broader context, there are definite signs of progress across the Muslim world. Indications are that a veritable revolution is underway among women in such societies.
Of course, it is not an overt revolution, but a profound transformation that has great scope: Since the turn of the century, 50 million women in predominantly-Muslim countries have entered the labor market.
As Saadia Zahidi, a Pakistani member of the World Economic Forum’s Executive Committee and head of its initiative on Education, Gender and Work, argues in her well-researched book packed with concrete examples, Fifty Million Rising: The New Generation of Working Women Transforming the Muslim World, what is happening is a real “tsunami.”
It is true that working women still account for only one quarter of the female population of these societies. But as Saadia Zahidi states, “the increase in their numbers represents an economic and cultural shift of enormous magnitude. Fifteen million women are renegotiating their own and their families’ norms and values.”
To give one example, in Pakistan, only four million women worked out of a population of 107 million 1990. By now, while the population has since doubled, the number of women workers has risen fourfold.
We should also remember that the United States and Europe only managed this transformation half a century ago. Some decades ago, in countries like in Germany, women still needed the consent of their husbands to take up work. Sound familiar?
Research suggests that, once women reach a 30% share in a nation’s labor force, this constitutes a tipping point where things start to change. They now account for 31% of the workforce across the Islamic world.
Clearly, there are major differences among Muslim countries. Only six of them have laws protecting against discrimination on the grounds of sex in employment contracts: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mauritania, Morocco and Tajikistan.
And very often, although they can now study and work, these freedoms are not accompanied by basic freedoms for women. For example, rates of mobile phone ownership are significantly lower among women than among men in the majority of these societies.
In other words, it is a revolution that is by no means assured. It is “exponential, but not inevitable,” as Saadia Zahidi puts it. The forces of conservatism may push it back – as has already happened in some countries. Armed conflicts may thwart progress as well, as has occurred in Syria.
The type of education these young women are choosing also matters considerably. There are only five countries in the world with a higher proportion of women than men studying science, technology and engineering.
Two of them, Kuwait and Brunei, are predominantly Muslim. Half of the 18 countries where women constitute 40% of such students are Muslim, according to Zahidi.
Recent academic years in Egypt have seen almost 34% of the places in these subjects being taken by women, many of whom go on to pursue careers in the same fields, often as tech and online retailing entrepreneurs.
But if the trend continues, it will change many things. Just recall that in 2004, the sociologists Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris had convincingly argued that the real clash today’s world has to contend with was not one between civilizations, as Samuel Huntington had argued. They cast it as a clash between sexes, because of the often subservient role played by women, especially in the Muslim world.
Note EU-Digest: Great progress indeed for Muslim women, but unfortunately it also is a matter of the equality of men and women that needs to be addressed. The Koran was never modernized to reflect the equality of women in relation to men. In contrast to what was done during the Reformation for the Christian religion by Martin Luther against the doctrinal and oppressive Catholic Church based in Rome.
July 7, 2015
Insurance Industry: How the Internet of Things is transforming the insurance industry - by John Greenough
The ability to bring internet connection to nearly every type of
consumer device will have huge implications for the insurance industry
over the next five years. Insurers looking to cut costs, improve
business practices, and better assess clients' risk levels, will
increasingly invest in the Internet of Things (IoT).
Some auto and health insurers are already offering a new type of insurance — usage-based insurance (UBI) that uses IoT devices to track clients' activity and offer discounts or rewards for healthy and safe behavior. We expect 17 million people will have tried UBI auto insurance by the end of this year.
In a new report from BI Intelligence, we examine the impact of the IoT on the insurance industry. From free fitness trackers to track individuals' exercise habits to drones to assess damages in unsafe post-disaster conditions, we analyze current US insurance markets — including the auto, health, life, and property insurance markets — and look at ways insurers are integrating IoT devices.
Read more: How the Internet of Things is transforming the insurance industry - Business Insider
Some auto and health insurers are already offering a new type of insurance — usage-based insurance (UBI) that uses IoT devices to track clients' activity and offer discounts or rewards for healthy and safe behavior. We expect 17 million people will have tried UBI auto insurance by the end of this year.
In a new report from BI Intelligence, we examine the impact of the IoT on the insurance industry. From free fitness trackers to track individuals' exercise habits to drones to assess damages in unsafe post-disaster conditions, we analyze current US insurance markets — including the auto, health, life, and property insurance markets — and look at ways insurers are integrating IoT devices.
Read more: How the Internet of Things is transforming the insurance industry - Business Insider
June 28, 2015
Islam: Potential Saudi Arabia "implosion" could happen sooner than later
On June 26 there were three Muslim terrorist attacks: in France,
Tunisia, and Kuwait, killing a large numbers of innocent civilians.And all this during Ramadan.
There is no way this can be explained away by saying "oh but those are radicalized Muslims, or it is the fault of foreign intervention." All the signs are there - change must come and is already coming to Islam in a spiritual way.
Spiritual forces from within and outside Islam will either modify or dispose of the religion as a fake. This in a very similar way as Maarten Luther, against all odds, broke the "radical" grip the Vatican Catholic Church had on many Christian countries in Europe during the 1500's.
One can foresee a scenario whereby Saudi Arabia, the present custodian of two holy mosques, could "implode" within 10 years. As will other countries in the area.
Change will not come without pain, but it will come and can not be stopped.
EU-Digest
February 21, 2015
Crime in trhe EU: The Netherlands Falls Victim to Violent Crime - by Sierra Rayne
With the recent news that
the Dutch goverment will be prosecuting Geert Wilders, the leader of
the Party for Freedom, for hate speech once again, even a cursory review
of what is happening in the Netherlands reveals why Wilders is so
concerned. His nation is becoming unrecognizable and deteriorating
rapidly.
Over the past 20 years, the violent crime rate has increased an astounding 83 percent in the Netherlands. Almost all of this increase took place before 2005 -- indeed, since 2005 there has been a slight decline in the Dutch violent crime rate, but the levels are still astronomical compared to those seen in the early to mid-1990s.
Between 1993 and 1995, the Dutch unemployment rate increased sharply but the violent crime rate was essentially unaffected. From 1995 to 2011, the unemployment rate fell from 7.1 percent to just 2.5 percent, and the violent crime rate exploded upwards. Since 2008, the jobless rate has increased rapidly, but the violent crime rate has declined modestly -- albeit still at nearly twice 1993 levels.
Real per capita GDP has fallen 5 percent since 2008, and violent crime also declined, whereas from 1993 to 2005 the real per capita GDP increased by almost 30 percent while the violent crime rate also increased 111 percent.
Attempting to assign causation for an increasing violent crime rate on increased per capita wealth generation would be inconsistent with the general experience among wealthy nations over this time frame (aka, invalid).
Changes in income inequality also won't explain the massive increase in the Dutch violent crime rate during the last two decades. The income shares for the top 10 percent and top 1 percent have hardly changed over this period.
What has changed in a consistent manner with the Dutch violent crime rate is the percentage of population that is classified as "international migrant stock"
Read more: Blog: The Netherlands Falls Victim to Violent Crime
Over the past 20 years, the violent crime rate has increased an astounding 83 percent in the Netherlands. Almost all of this increase took place before 2005 -- indeed, since 2005 there has been a slight decline in the Dutch violent crime rate, but the levels are still astronomical compared to those seen in the early to mid-1990s.
Between 1993 and 1995, the Dutch unemployment rate increased sharply but the violent crime rate was essentially unaffected. From 1995 to 2011, the unemployment rate fell from 7.1 percent to just 2.5 percent, and the violent crime rate exploded upwards. Since 2008, the jobless rate has increased rapidly, but the violent crime rate has declined modestly -- albeit still at nearly twice 1993 levels.
Real per capita GDP has fallen 5 percent since 2008, and violent crime also declined, whereas from 1993 to 2005 the real per capita GDP increased by almost 30 percent while the violent crime rate also increased 111 percent.
Attempting to assign causation for an increasing violent crime rate on increased per capita wealth generation would be inconsistent with the general experience among wealthy nations over this time frame (aka, invalid).
Changes in income inequality also won't explain the massive increase in the Dutch violent crime rate during the last two decades. The income shares for the top 10 percent and top 1 percent have hardly changed over this period.
What has changed in a consistent manner with the Dutch violent crime rate is the percentage of population that is classified as "international migrant stock"
Read more: Blog: The Netherlands Falls Victim to Violent Crime
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