Dutch Finance Chief Calls 36% Unrealized Crypto Tax 'Wrong'

Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen told RTL Nieuws the Actual Return in Box 3 Act can't pass as written.

The law sailed through the House of Representatives on February 12 with 93 votes and would impose a 36% tax on unrealized gains on digital assets starting January 1, 2028. Heinen announced plans to amend it, saying something went wrong and the current version needs to be fixed. His office said they're going back to the drawing board to start discussions with both the House and Senate on amendments.

The law created an international uproar. Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke posted on X the day after the vote that the policy is the dumbest thing any government on planet Earth is pursuing right now. The core problem: taxpayers could face tax bills even if they lost money overall, since the law taxes paper gains in one year without accounting for crashes in the next.

The new system replaces an older framework that Dutch courts declared unconstitutional three times between 2021 and 2024. Those rulings cost the government roughly ₱143.85 billion ($2.5 billion) in annual revenue. The replacement law was designed to tax actual returns rather than assumed returns, but critics say the mark-to-market approach for crypto creates impossible liquidity problems.

Real estate and startup shares are exempt from the annual mark-to-market taxation, while liquid assets like crypto face the full 36% hit. The law includes an ₱112,202 ($1,950) tax-free return threshold and allows net losses exceeding ₱31,359 ($545) to be carried forward indefinitely. Dutch crypto holdings by companies, institutions, and households jumped from ₱5.52 billion ($96 million) in 2020 to ₱81.71 billion ($1.42 billion) by October 2025, requiring the amended version to clear the Senate before the January 1, 2028 effective date.