Two new Flash Reports prepared by the European Social Policy Network (ESPN) are now available and provide information on the amended law on personal income tax in Serbia and the critical evaluation of the Dutch Participation Act by the Netherlands Institute for Social Research

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• In Serbia, the amended law on personal income tax aims to reduce tax evasion by better regulating the area of self-employment. The main changes include an assessment (based on nine criteria) of the dependency relationship between self-employed entrepreneurs and their business clients, which may put them in a higher tax bracket. Also, to facilitate potential transitions from self-employment to employment, founders of innovative private businesses are now exempt from paying compulsory social contributions for new employees during a 36-month period. The new regulations are opposed by a number of self-employed IT professionals, since they are the group who will be most affected by the revised law.
• In November, the Netherlands Institute for Social Research published a critical evaluation of the Dutch “Participation Act” (in force since 2015), which provides income support to people furthest away from the labour market and was meant to increase their job opportunities. The report prompted a public debate as its main conclusion is that the objectives of the act have hardly been achieved. Pressure groups representing the municipalities (who are responsible for implementing the act) and other stakeholders, including the largest Dutch union (FNV), have stressed the need for more financial resources and proposed several improvements to the scheme.