deWaardKramer

Knowledge of the law

As an employer you will have to deal with the Wages and Salaries Tax Act. If you are a self-employed person without employees, this does not seem relevant, but there are some grey areas here. In any case, deWaardKramer can be your expert adviser and source of knowledge.

Responsible for deducting tax, or not?

Even if you employ only one staff member, you are responsible for deducting that person's wage tax and social security contributions from his or her pay and remitting the amounts withheld to the Tax Office and the relevant industrial insurance board. deWaardKramer can relieve you of this administrative task. This should be taken seriously, because the fines can run to 100% if the wrong amounts are withheld and remitted.

Employee, or not?

Not only people who have signed an employment contract are employees. Those who work without an employment contract but perform work in a comparable position are also deemed to be employees. This is referred to as a "deemed employment relationship". The self-employed are not in an employment relationship. However, the Tax Office or the relevant industrial insurance board sometimes takes a rather different view of what constitutes "self-employment" than one might expect. To reduce the scope for disagreement, the Employment Status Declaration (Verklaring Arbeidsrelatie, VAR) has been introduced. An assessment in advance will give you the clarity you need in your work.

Paid employment, or not?

You not only have to know for whom you have to deduct payroll tax, but also which forms of remuneration are subject to such deductions. The concept of "pay" covers more than agreed gross pay, for instance. It also includes:

• taxable claims (e.g. under a health insurance policy)

• rewards in kind (e.g. free accommodation)

• payments from third parties (e.g. tips).

On the other hand, certain allowances and benefits are not considered "pay" and can be extended free of tax. We can help you to sort out these issues.