The Netherlands: Unilever officially no longer Dutch company

For 91 years, the company structure was divided between the Netherlands and Great Britain, with two head offices in London and Rotterdam. The company also had two boards and two types of shares.

To simplify its structure, the company decided in 2018 to opt for one main office. Initially, the choice fell on Rotterdam, possibly partly due to the government's announcement to abolish the dividend tax. However, after opposition from influential shareholders, London became the final choice. In the end, the abolition of the dividend tax in the Netherlands was not passed.

The restructuring means that important strategic decisions will subsequently be made in London. This brings an end to the long Dutch history of the company, but in practice – at least in short term – there won't be much change.

Read more at: Unilever officially no longer Dutch company | NL Times

The Netherlands: New government under pressure over dividend tax ' corporate blackmail' claims

Rutte:"Being good to corporations is good for Holland"

MPs have called on prime minister Mark Rutte to explain the new government’s decision to scrap the tax on dividends for a second time, amid mounting reports that Shell and Unilever put pressure on the coalition negotiators.

The move to scrap the tax, which will cost the treasury €1.4bn and only benefit foreign firms, was not included in any of the party manifestos and has been condemned by opposition parties.

Broadcaster NOS reported earlier on Thursday that it had been told Anglo Dutch firms Shell and Unilever and two other companies had urged the new coalition to scrap the tax. ‘There was a real threat that a couple of bigger Dutch firms would go to London,’

NOS correspondent Ron Fresen said. Shell and Unilever have headquarters in both the Netherlands and Britain and both have been considering their position in a post-Brexit economy. Shell said on Wednesday it welcomed the new government’s decision.

It has campaigned for the tax to be scrapped for at least 10 years. Unilever has said it will decide by the end of the year whether or not to keep its dual headquarter structure. The company has also said that it is pleased with all measures which strengthen the Netherlands’ position as an international business centre. Jobs

Prime minister Mark Rutte has said repeatedly that the measure is needed to keep jobs and to make sure the Netherlands remains an attractive location for foreign firms.

However, leading economists and the government’s own macro-economic think-tank CPB have also questioned the move. During Thursday’s debate, GroenLinks (Greens) popular  leader Jesse Klaver said the government had laid itself open to being ‘blackmailed’ by big companies.

Read more: New government under pressure over dividend tax 'blackmail' claims - DutchNews.nl

Capitalizing on Capitalism: Unilever's Paul Polman Shares His Plans to Save the World - by Vivienne Walt

Step out of the frigid drizzle into Unilever’s factory outside ­Liverpool in northern England, and the brightly lit, automated assembly line gleams in stark contrast to the gloom outside. Thousands of bottles shoot down a conveyor belt with a click-clack sound, in a streak of bright purple.

Look more closely, and there is an important detail. The new bottle is squatter than the older, taller style on another assembly line, with a smaller dispenser and a label explaining that this version of Comfort brand fabric conditioner is good for 38 washes, rather than the 33 of the last-generation package. The message is clear: Customers need to help save one of earth’s most precious resources—water.

This might appear to be a clever bit of marketing by one of the world’s biggest consumer product companies, and marketing it surely is. But to Unilever (ul, +14.00%), its updated, concentrated liquid is also a crucial innovation. It’s one of countless tweaks underway by the Anglo-Dutch company in its more than 300 factories across the world, which churn out more than 400 brands for 2.5 billion or so customers—an astonishing one in every three people on the planet.

Central to these changes is a message Unilever is determined to convey to its investors, as well as to other companies: Big corporations need to change the way they do business, fast, or they will steadily shrink and die.

Read more: Unilever's Paul Polman Shares His Plans to Save the World | Fortune.com