The Employment Relationships Enforcement Plan, phase 2025, was published on 18 December 2024. This relates to the enforcement of the Assessment of Employment Relationships (Deregulation) Act (DBA) from 1 January 2025, as well as the "soft landing" which will still apply in 2025.
The Tax and Customs Administration states that the enforcement strategy for 2025 takes as its starting point the principle that citizens and companies are willing to comply with the tax rules of their own accord, without the need for coercive and costly measures on the part of the tax authorities. Considerable emphasis will be placed on providing information but that does not mean that specific tax audits will not take place. From 2026 the enforcement of this area will become part of the general enforcement work.
In the context of the "soft landing", the Enforcement Plan specifically confirms that the tax authorities will not be imposing any fines in 2025 where an investigation shows that the self-employment is spurious. Supplementary assessments can still be imposed, of course. If it has not already been done, this also makes 2025 the year to make a start on identifying employment relationships where there may be a risk of bogus self-employment and taking measures to reduce or eliminate this risk.
The Tax and Customs Administration has said that prior consultation with contractors (the self-employed) and clients (principals) is still possible and could help in providing assurance. The tax authorities have published a form and a checklist for this purpose. By using the form "Request for prior consultation on assessment of employment relationship" (verzoek vooroverleg beoordeling arbeidsrelatie) a client can ask the tax authorities to indicate in advance on how a specific working relationship with a contracted party would be assessed. This prior assessment could lead to the Tax and Customs Administration adopting a position or even an agreement between the tax authorities and an employer about the working relationship. When making this advance request, the "checklist accompanying a request for prior consultation on the assessment of an employment relationship" (checklist verzoek vooroverleg beoordeling arbeidsrelatie) must always be completed and submitted at the same time.
The model agreements currently in use will remain valid until 31 December 2029. Naturally, under the proviso that in practice the work must be done in accordance with what is stated in the model agreement.
The tax authorities also highlight the major role played by intermediaries in the market for the self-employed. The Tax and Customs Administration indicates that from the perspective of enforcement, there is currently insufficient insight into this market and further analysis is needed.