The Winter 2007 - 2008 Issue contains a.o. the following articles:

INTERVIEW

From the Point of View of… Hilde Weidinger

“I am quite fascinated by Angela Merkel. When she started out in politics 15 years ago, no one could have predicted that she would become Prime Minister of Germany. But over the years, she has managed to garnish the support of her political party, while she has also earned respect in international politics. She has managed to establish her authority and to become a recognized leader, both nationally and internationally. And I admire that. I would be interested in discussing Germany’s political position and how it will develop in the future. Due to the fact that it shares a long border with the Eastern European countries, it pays an important intermediary position between these countries and Western Europe. For a long time, this position was nonexistent, because of the Wall and the separation between the two Germanies. Now it is one nation again and will once again fill this important position. This could greatly influence both its economy and its place in world politics.”

 TAX

Tax Measures 2008
By Bart van Meijl

Changes in law and regulations always create complications. Partly, they are caused by case law – and yearly they are caused by ‘Prinsjesdag’. The good news is that tax advisors are used to dealing with these constant changes.
On every third Thursday of September we have the tradition of ‘Prinsjesdag’. This is the day on which the Queen announces the government’s (tax) plans for the coming year. This year, two bills were published on this day, as part of the 2008 Tax Package. In this article, Bart van Meijl goes into a few of the proposed changes and plans for 2008.
Bart van Meijl is a tax specialist and partner at Expatax B.V., a specialized company for expatriates and internationally operating companies. He can be contacted at 030 - 246 85 36 or info@expatax.nl
www.expatax.nl

CAREER

When Is an Employee Not an Employee?
By Martin Glick

Globalisation, the movement to a knowledge economy, talent shortages and other contributory factors have had a massive impact on the growth in what are best termed as ‘non-traditional employment relationships’. These relationships include those who work from home, multiple jobholders, contractors, temps, part-time workers / employees and other alternative work arrangements.
As organisations seek to become agile and respond to change, they are likely turn to one or more of these non-traditional employment models, in order to have access to a range of on-demand workers in a variety of disciplines.
Determining the correct classification of workers is one the biggest challenge facing governments and employers. Failure to get the classification right can cost the employing organisation dearly. The main areas in which organisations are most at risk are taxes and employment.
In this article, Martin Glick takes a look at these risks, possible solutions and possible pitfalls.
martin.glick@thealbanygroup.com.
www.thealbanygroup.com

FINANCE

Saving through the Bank as an Alternative to Insurance
By Henk van Seijen

If you want to be able to deduct the premiums for an individual pension or an annuity or if you want to accrue an amount of savings free of tax, then you need to go through an insurer. In most cases, this will boil down to arranging a savings insurance. With this type of insurance, you pay a monthly premium and, at the maturity date, you receive a payment, or a pension. Should you die before reaching it reaches the maturity date, then, in most cases, an extra amount is paid out. Lately, this type of insurance has been in the news because of the related high costs, as a consequence of which the actual savings have been a bit of a disappointment.
The government has come up with the solution of having banks offer similar products. The banks then do not offer a savings insurance, but rather a savings account (Savings Account Own Home, called SEW in the Netherlands) or an investment account (Investment Account Own Home, or BEW). It is expected that these accounts will entail lower costs than the savings insurances, but higher costs than the usual types of savings or investment accounts.
Henk van Seijen is partner at Finsens B.V. in Amsterdam. He can be contacted on 020 - 623 44 47 or hvanseijen@finsens.nl
www.finsens.nl

LEGAL

Before Hiring, Consider… Firing!
By Liane van de Vrugt

In the previous issues of The XPat Journal, specific attention was paid to the various kinds of employment relationships and the possible (adverse) consequences from a legal, tax and/or social security point of view. Before entering into a certain kind of employment relationship a company should, however, not only carefully consider the terms and conditions of employment and the possible tax and social security consequences thereof, but also – and in my opinion foremost – the (im)possibilities of terminating this employment relationship when it has run its course.
Why? Because, what if the ideal candidate turns out to be your worse nightmare? What if your contractor claims that he is working on the basis of an employment agreement and invokes dismissal protection? What if the ‘host employer’, who is hiring in the ‘worker’, is not satisfied with the performance and demands a replacement from the ‘labour leasing agency’? What if… etc.? How could or should a company deal with these situations? Especially in international situations, a company should seek expert advice, not only regarding the type of contract to be used but also regarding the (im)possibilities of terminating the contract without running huge financial risks.
lvdvrugt@vedeve.com
www.vedeve.com

Dreaded, Devastating and Most Often Tedious: Divorcing Abroad
By Froana Hoff and Godelijn Boonman 

In the eyes of the world, expats live an enviably glamorous life – relocating to exotic places with all expenses paid by the employer, having their kids go to the best private schools, accumulating more air miles per year than most of us do in a lifetime... But is the glass half full or half empty? There's a dark side to it all as well: expats don't bond with the local community, they spend more hours in the office than with their families and at some point their kids choose to go to boarding schools, as they loathe to break friendships for the umpteenth time just because Dad or Mum is climbing the company ladder... And how about the other half, the trailing spouse? Being a professional global nomad can take a heavy toll on a relationship. Sadly, some of them don't make it to the next posting and the couple breaks up. Divorce is never easy and it can become a devastating experience when it happens in a foreign country where one must find a way through the legal maze without the support of those near and dear. Blinding emotions, financial dependencies and the custody debate can drag out, exhausting all the material, financial and emotional resources available.
Froana Hoff (f.hoff@gmw.nl) or Hedda Schipper (h.schipper@gmw.nl)
www.gmw.nl 
 

Legal Problems

Say, your rental agreement has been canceled, you have been fired, or your landlord will not make much-needed repairs. Or perhaps you have been in an accident, are about to get divorced, or your neighbor’s dog has chewed up your (wife’s) Pradas. How do you deal with this in a different country, language and legal system?

You seek legal advice.
Options
Where do you seek legal advice? You can turn to so-called legal counters, trade unions, lawyers and municipal social service counselors. Together, these are referred to as legal aid agencies. Whose aid you end up enlisting, depends on the issue and your budget. In this article, we go into when you are obligated to arrange legal representation, who best to turn to, what to do if you do not have enough funds, and how to go about finding an interpreter, if need be.

LEISURE

Drenthe Implores to be Explored
By Suzanne Schreve

When the clock ticks an hour earlier and rising at dawn no longer equates a waking sun, you know autumn has crept upon us and winter is only a breath away. No matter where you are, provided you are somewhere in Holland, dark moody skies continue to crawl over the nape of your city, town or village. It seems like a perfect time to escape the brooding climate and browse the Internet for a sweltering December in Australia or a colourful New Year’s in India. But you don’t need to look a continent away. If you look a little closer, you can find the warmth and colours in Holland’s own backyard. Maybe it’s time you visited Drenthe.
Drenthe sits quietly in the Northeast and is one of the least densely populated provinces in the country. Don’t be fooled though, because quiet does not mean boring. It is precisely because Drenthe is ‘under-populated’ that there are many national parks, lakes, forests and small villages to visit. It could therefore prove tricky to choose where to go, but the deciding factor might be a combination of star gazing, ancient monolithic beauty, vast history and quaint inhabitants, all within a twenty kilometre radius.
 

Delft  - The Town of Blue and White Porcelain

To those outside the Netherlands, Delft is known as the home of the blue and white glazed pottery called ‘delftware.’ To the Dutch, it is also known as the city of their royalty. Both are reasons why this is one of the nation’s top tourist destinations, but even without these claims to fame, Delft would remain a popular town, simply because it is very picturesque.
Founded in 1075, Delft is more much more intimate than Amsterdam. Its splendid Gothic and Renaissance houses lining tree-shaded canals easily transport one to another period in time. A number of famous native sons include the painter Vermeer, and the famous lawyer and scholar, Hugo Grotius. It is also the last resting place of William of Orange, also known as William the Silent. He made Delft his home in his fight against the Spanish rule, and it was here that he was assassinated and buried. Over 40 of his descendents, belonging to the Royal House of Orange-Nassau, are also buried here.
The best ways to see Delft are to take a horse-drawn tram, a canal tour or to walk away from the hubbub of the busy Market Square into the narrow, primarily residential streets with elegant historic buildings along the canals. For more information, contact the VVV in Delft; www.delft.com.

This is the fourth in our series of ‘Travel Tips’ from the all-new, 9th edition of Here’s Holland, an all-in-one guide to travel and life in Holland, written by Sheila Gazaleh-Weevers, with Shirley Agudo and Connie Moser. For more information, see www.heresholland.com.

EXPAT LIVING

Some-Buddy: Exclusively Tailored Private Staffing Solutions

Some-Buddy offers tailor-made staffing services responding to the specific staffing needs of individuals and families. Whether they need a butler, nanny, estate manager, household manager, housekeeper, companion, personal assistant, gardener, chef, cook, personal trainer or a chauffeur, on a permanent or short-term basis, the staffing possibilities Some-Buddy has to offer are only limited by the client’s request.
“What I miss these days,” Natanja Lokerse tells, “is personal service and attention for the individual client’s needs. Especially in the private service industry, where this is of utmost importance, the personal touch is hard to find. I wanted to make a difference. My aim was to create a personal company that offers high quality, tailor-made services. Some-Buddy became its name. Personal service, discretion, integrity and diligence are our core values and drive every step in the process towards an individualized high quality staffing solution.”
www.some-buddy.com

INTERVIEW

Diversity: Leaders not Labels, A New Plan for the 21st Century
By Connie Moser

As we emerge into the rapidly expanding global marketplace, developments move faster and so do people. International teams circle the globe, outsourcing abounds and cultures collide. Our complex competitive workforce, advanced technology, and 24-7 communications make personal reinvention a necessity. According to Stedman Graham, bestselling American author, educator and businessman, “Today’s challenge with diversity is to be able to assimilate without sacrificing heritage or identity, to transcend from follower to leader.”

Diversity is here to stay, Graham states in his new book, Diversity: Leaders Not Labels, A New Plan for the 21st Century. We need leaders, not labels, and are advised to either participate in diversity or drop out of the worldwide labor market. “Talent will determine value, as competition increases. What is important is based on performance, and creating value. More focus on talents and skills will prevail as people have access to more knowledge and control in their lives; they will gain more of an identity.”
www.stedmangraham.com
www.u-and-i-know.com

COLUMN

Cops Get Tough... on Bicycles
By Andrew Moskos

In 2004, partially in response to the murder of Theo van Gogh, a change happened and law enforcement became more adversarial. It was decided that the police needed to get tough, get respect and “do something”, even if that something had no lasting effect. Although also evident in their treatment of taxi drivers and recreational drug users, this change has been most apparent in the way the police treat cyclists.

For years, we bike riders have been minding own business, but none of the traffic laws. We ride the wrong way down streets, dart around cars and ride through red lights. We bike where we want. We bike when we want. And we don't wear helmets. That's how it always has been, and that's how it should be.
In 2002, two new police campaigns tried to change some of that…
www.boomchicago.nl

DUTCH CULTURE

Sinterklaas – A History
By Alex Laybourne

Although it may sound like a foreign pronunciation of Santa Claus, Sinterklaas and the feast that celebrates his are different in many ways to the Santa Claus that we know in Britain.
Sinterklaas was a real man, whereas Santa in merely a fictional creation who came about hundreds of years ago after worshipping saints was banned by the same Church to which Sinterklaas dedicated his life. Sinterklaas (an amalgamation of his real name Saint Nicolas, or Sint Niklaas) is nonetheless the man on whom the myth of Santa was eventually based.
The legend of Sint Nicolas was easily adopted in the low countries, Holland and Belgium, as both nations were heavily involved in sea travel and navigation. The Dutch alone were so taken by the legend of Nicolas that they built 23 individual churches dedicated to his memory. Amsterdam even declared Nicolas the patron saint of the city itself.
Throughout Holland, the feast of Sinterklaas is still celebrated, more so than Christmas.

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