'Abolition of insurance tax is the first step'

On Friday 21 September, a large majority of the House of Representatives approved a motion by Kees van der Staaij (SGP) and Sybrand Buma (CDA). In it, they asked the minister to abolish the insurance tax on broad weather insurance.

Jaco Geurts (CDA) is one of the champions of the abolition of the insurance tax on the broad weather insurance. How does he envision this and how much will it cost the State?

It is now clear that there is broad support for the abolition of the insurance tax. However, why was it not abolished sooner?
"The CDA has been working on this for 4 years now (also in collaboration with the SGP). This is because we believe that the insurance tax makes participation in the broad weather insurance unnecessarily expensive. That there is now such broad support for the plan may be because this season's drought had a major impact the members of the House of Representatives, the influence of the weather extremes is now clearer."

The motion says that the abolition of the insurance tax must be introduced quickly. When do you expect this to be arranged?
"It is indeed necessary to make haste, because a majority of the House of Representatives was in favor of the plan. The Ministry of Finance still has to shape the abolition. I expect the abolition to be a fact from 2019. However, it does come with a considerable cost. The abolition will soon cost the State about €4 million, which can increase if more farmers use the insurance."

What does the abolition mean for the sector and are farmers now switching to insurance en masse?
"I have received many positive reactions so far, but of course I do not have a crystal ball to see what this will mean in the future. It is in any case one less threshold to take out insurance and it is also a means of greater weather extremes to deal with."

The insurance tax is one of the pain points, but there are also complaints about the deductible. In addition, the fact that the compensation is based on an average potato price is a problem. How does this work out?
"I think we should count our blessings. The exemption is great for business operations and of course we want more. However, then there must also be support in society. The distance from farmers is greater than ever. People have the idea that farmers hold out their hands, but it is forgotten that they are special entrepreneurs. Moreover, we cannot do without them, while we can do without other entrepreneurs, such as beach tent owners, for a while."

Anne-Jan Doorn

Anne Jan Doorn is an arable expert at Boerenbusiness. He writes about the various arable farming markets and also focuses on the land and energy market.

aj.doorn@boerenbusiness. Nl

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