PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Ardwell Irion has formally addressed the Minister of Finance, Marinka Gumbs, and the Minister of Justice, Nathalie Tackling, regarding a critical fiscal irregularity affecting government employees. In a letter sent on January 19, 2026, MP Irion requested the immediate correction of payroll errors that have left many workers taxed at an incorrect, elevated rate for up to two years.
"Based on complaints that came to me from concerned civil servants, the majority of whom are from the Ministry of Justice, it is clear that this administrative error is having a severe financial impact on their lives," MP Irion stated.
The issue stems from the handling of one-time lump sum payouts, for example, if someone receives a 100,000 guilders payout. While MP Irion acknowledges that such "Bijzondere Beloningen" (Special Remuneration) may trigger the top marginal tax rate of 47.5% for that specific transaction, he flagged the subsequent taxation of regular monthly salaries as "legally flawed."
Employees report that following this payout, the wage tax on their regular monthly salary was increased to 47.5% and has remained at this elevated rate for up to two years. When inquiring with the Wages and Salaries Department, they are told "it is being looked into," yet no fix has been implemented.
MP Irion, a former Minister of Finance, explained that the government’s payroll system appears to be calculating current taxes based on an inflated "Fiscaal Jaarloon" (Fiscal Annual Wage) from the previous year, a figure skewed by the one-time payout. He argues this is a direct misapplication of the ordinance, as regular monthly salaries must be taxed according to the "Periodic Wage Tax Tables" (Tijdvaktabellen), which are designed to reflect actual periodic income earned in a specific month, unrelated to past exceptional events.
"By locking these civil servants into the 47.5% bracket for their regular salary, the government is effectively over-withholding taxes and reducing their disposable income without legal justification," the MP noted.
In his correspondence, MP Irion issued two primary requests to the Ministers, specifically asking them to instruct the Wages and Salaries Department to revert all affected employees to their proper income tax brackets immediately based on their actual current earnings. Furthermore, he requested that they calculate the excess wage tax withheld during this period and issue reimbursements to these employees within a reasonable timeline.
Additionally, MP Irion commended the Government for successfully finding a mechanism to pay the recent Christmas bonus completely tax-free. He has challenged the Ministers to disclose the legal basis for this exemption and proposes applying the same methodology to the lump-sum payouts for Justice workers to ensure equal treatment.
The letter has been copied to relevant union leaders, including WICSU/PSU, NAPB, and ABVO, signaling a unified push for a speedy resolution.
Click here for the letter sent to the Minister of Finance.