During the public session on the Top Incomes Standardization Act (Landsverordening Normering Topinkomens – LNT), Member of Parliament Xiomara Maduro strongly criticized the approach Minister of Finance Geoffrey Wever intends to use to remove various companies and entities from the LNT’s scope without amending the law.
The minister is seeking Parliament’s stance (gevoelens)—meaning political direction and approval—regarding the changes the Government wants to apply to the LNT. However, according to Maduro, the core issue is that Minister Wever intends to use a favorable policy (begunstigend beleid) to restrict the LNT’s scope while the legislation itself remains unchanged.
Minister Wever is asking Parliament for political authorization to carry out an action not permitted by law. Parliament cannot grant a minister permission to bypass an active law.
If the LNT applies to a company or entity, the Government cannot simply exclude that entity through executive policy. Should the Government wish to alter the LNT’s scope, it must submit a formal legislative amendment to Parliament along with the relevant legal and financial advisories.
Throughout the meeting, it became clear that Minister Wever did not arrive sufficiently prepared. Clarity is still lacking regarding exactly which entities will be removed from the LNT, which will remain, why they are being treated differently, and how the Government plans to legally execute these adjustments. “The process is inverted. Minister Wever should have done his homework first and presented a solution that aligns with the law. Only then can he ask Parliament to offer its political opinion.”
Parliament’s duty is to oversee the Government, not to hand over a “blank check” allowing the Government to find ways around a law that Parliament itself passed. “As a lawyer, Minister Wever ought to know full well that he cannot ask Parliament to agree to actions against the law. The mere fact that Wever proposes such a measure is blameworthy,” MP Maduro emphasized.