Budget Day: WBSO 2019 for startups on a steady course

The Dutch government remains on a steady course when it comes to supporting innovation and startups in 2019. Traditionally the third Tuesday of September is annual Budget Day when the new policies are presented. Here we explain what the most important news of last Tuesday means for your startup.

WBSO 2019 remains steady

There were some rumours earlier this year that the WBSO, the most important tax subsidy for technical innovation, would increase. The total budget increased slightly to € 1.2 billion however the government decided to keep the rates as they currently are. This means that in 2019 the wage tax discount is 32% up to a total wage of € 350,000, and the tax subsidy above €350,000 will remain at 14%. When your startup qualifies as a starter in 2019 the discount of 40% on the payroll wage tax applies.

If your startup qualifies as a starter and has for example 2 developers/engineers on the payroll and their development activities qualify for the WBSO, the yearly discount can amount to ca. €34k net subsidy.

Tax burdens for the retention of key employees are still not solved

Despite ongoing discussions to smoothen the legal and tax regulations by which startups can retain and incentivize their employees, this issue is still not solved. In practice, startups would like to provide shares, options or SARs to their key employees. Also in 2019, we haven’t seen a definitive solution to this yet.     

Cybersecurity in the spotlight

Cybersecurity will be in the spotlight in the coming years. In the period 2019 – 2022 an amount of €20 million is reserved for establishing a knowledge base and innovation. Cybersecurity companies should pay attention to the coming period.

We can conclude that the government decided to choose for continuity in the policies for innovation and startups for the coming year, which is a good thing!  

Stay tuned to Silicon Canals for more updates in the tech startup world.

Picture credits: Shutterstock/ Nancy Beijersbergen