Tax department celebrates 200th anniversary with exhibit

ROTTERDAM - A special exhibition in the Tax and Customs Museum pays attention to 200 years of federal taxation in the Netherlands. Before 1806, collecting taxes was the domain of provinces and municipalities. In that year, Finance Minister Gogel introduced a central taxation system and the formation of the Tax Service. The first federal taxes did not affect the rich as it did the other segments of the Dutch population. Artisans were taxed and a tax on groceries and other staples was introduced. Only towards the end of the 19th century, a first kind of income tax was levied, which in later years was expanded and fine-tuned. The Netherlands had 66 Finance Ministers since 1806, with the current, but outgoing one, Gerrit Zalm (VVD) having been in office the longest.