@WW2Facts I do not think my late family on my father side "profitted" from these drops, but my grandfather did take to the roads to try and get food from farmers further north for his family including my father who was 2 years old at the time, coming from Zaandam, just north of Amsterdam.
@Vanguard_WW2 Well written thread, thank you. In just 10 tweets you have captured mystery, defiance, every day life and sadness. Too bad my French never exceeded high school level.
Reflections on this bill from a Dutch citizen who has closely followed this process for years.
First: the old system. It was pretty simple: the government assumed that you make ~5% return on your assets per year. That return is then taxed (~35%). Assets include savings, stocks, crypto, etc. There is an exemption of ~€55.000 per person. Assets are measured on the 1st of January every year.
Imagine you hold one bitcoin worth €75,000. Subtracting the exemption leaves €20,000 taxable. The government presumes a €1,000 return (5%), resulting in €360 tax (35%).
In summary, this system is:
- Very simple to understand
- Low administrative burden
- Advantageous to investors where ROI >5%
- Disadvantageous to investors where ROI <5%
Savers fall into that latter group. Years of sub-5% interest rates led the government to overestimate savers' returns.
In 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that this was unlawful and that this needed to change. The government should calculate taxes based on the actual return on investment instead of the assumed return.
At this point, I want to make a few things clear:
- I don't mind paying taxes
- I think the Supreme Court's decision was correct
What I do mind is:
- Tax on paper gains
- Added administrative complexity for tax filings
- The Government is not listening to the advice of the Netherlands’ highest advisory body on legislation
- That the Tax Authority is pressuring the legislative process to make a quick decision
- Making obviously bad legislative decisions
And these are exactly the things that are happening.
For some reason, the Government decided against a capital gains-like system and chose an unrealized capital gains system.
This means that you pay tax on the paper profit you made during the year.
Let's say you have one Bitcoin on January 1st, valued at €70.000. On December 31st, Bitcoin is at €115.000. A return of €45.000. Taxes to pay: €15.750 (35%). No exemption in the new bill.
The problem: all your money is in Bitcoin.
But that is not a problem! That is what I want! That is why I stacked every single Satoshi I could since 2016. The same goes for stocks, gold, silver, or real estate: the goal is to have as little fiat as possible!
But in the short term, I have to pay €15.750 in taxes. In this example, it means I have to sell some of my Bitcoin (0.137 BTC, to be precise). After the tax, I'm left with 0.863 BTC (€99.245).
So on paper I'm doing fine (from €70.000 to €99.245 in a year). But my underlying assets are diminishing (1BTC to 0.863 BTC). The amount of Bitcoin, stocks, and gold in my portfolio is decreasing each year.
This creates a dilemma: I don’t want to sell. I expect bitcoin, stocks, and gold to rise over time. But I have to, because the Government demands it.
The obvious better choice was to tax when people decide to take a profit. I don't really have a problem with paying taxes on my realized profit. When I decide to sell, instead of being forced to sell when I don't want to.
I'm not the only one who thinks there are better options. The Council of State (the Netherlands’ highest advisory body on legislation):
"Don't do it. It's too complex (for both the tax authority and the citizens). Look for alternatives."
And still, the government marches on. And the House of Representatives 'reluctantly agrees'. What the fuck does that even mean?
"Yeah, we also don't like this bill, but we still are going to sign it into law."
It's batshit crazy. But it's where we are. That's what the quoted tweet is about.
Not all is lost, though:
- House of Representatives (2e kamer) still has to approve this bill (quote tweet is wrong here).
- Senate (1e kamer) still has to approve.
- The Tax Authority is unable to comply with this bill (too complex)
- Complexity makes this bill filled with loopholes
So, to sum it up: hopefully, Parliament comes to their senses and stops this monstrosity of a bill, and chooses one of the better options instead.
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@paymentmike@DrHelenFry The German occupiers of Belgium put up an electrical fence along the Belgian border with neutral Holland during WW1 to prevent smuggling and desertation and so on. It was over 300km in lenght. It is said to have killed 100s of people, hence the name.
The Christmas Truce of 25th December 1914, where British and German soldiers fraternised at Ploegsteert in Belgium.
Seen here are troops of the 5th London Rifle Brigade and the 104th and 106th Saxon Regiments.
@kennethmarsden6@WeHaveWaysPod Yes very clear example of a heavy cruiser pocket fast light battleship pocket for good measure. No discussion possible, obviously!
@jojohook2003 Was listening to a podcast on the radium girls who were painting dials with radium paint during and after WWI. Horrible. Mist likely not related at all as radiation was more well know in the 1940s, but had to think about that when see8ng this.
As promised, let's do a giveaway for one of these new gamma whitepaper edition!
This will be either a bitaxe gamma (one on right) or nerdaxe gamma (one on left) and will come with a 5v6a psu with NA plug. We ship worldwide and will handle duties!
🎟️Pretty simple to enter:
🤝Follow us (@IxTechCrypto)
🔁Like and retweet for more luck
Winner will be announced Wednesday , November 5th at 1300 US eastern time.
Good luck!
🚨 NERDAXE GAMMA GIVEAWAY🚨
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💬Go ahead and comment on your favorite Satoshi Nakamoto quote or quote from another bitcoiner
🗓️Drawing will be held Thursday September 18th, 2025 at 0930 Eastern time
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