Speech staatssecretaris Weekers bij het DUJAT-diner
DUJAT December Dinner and Deshima Award event
Your Excellency, ladies and gentlemen,
I’m delighted to be here again at this DUJAT dinner,
an event that never fails to inspire.
I still have fond memories
of a very pleasant evening with you all last year.
I had only been State Secretary a short time, and was then, as now, about to steer my tax plan through the Dutch Senate.
For you and me alike, there was cause for optimism.
That now seems like a long time ago.
It seems like back then we led a relatively carefree existence.
It seemed like a promising future was within reach for us all.
But after the events of the past year,
the world now seems a rather different place.
In March the world was shocked
by the devastating natural disaster that hit Japan.
Here in the Netherlands
we all felt a strong sense of solidarity with Japan.
We mourned the victims, and offered prayers of hope for the survivors.
It is always the human stories that touch us most deeply.
I remember seeing the famous photo of little Iroha,
only four months old.
Her mother just managed to save her
as the tsunami engulfed their house in Ishinomaki.
Iroha’s parents lost everything, except their most precious possession.
A small ray of hope amid all the suffering.
As the father of three daughters, I know how important it is
to feel you can protect your children.
I was especially moved by the mother’s concern
when that photo of her happy baby girl flashed around the world.
She didn’t want people to get the wrong idea
– to think that everything was somehow alright.
‘I want people to know the reality of what happened here,’ she said.
This is someone who, despite everything she lost,
is still concerned about those around her.
Is that what the Japanese mean by ‘kyosei’ [kie-oo-sij]?
Living and working together for the common good?
That is the attitude we need in these difficult times,
in Europe as well as in Japan.
Let me be clear: I am not comparing the European debt crisis
to the tragedy in Japan last spring.
We cannot equate loss of life with economic problems.
But if we want to give baby Iroha, your children and my children
a bright future, a favourable economic climate is essential.
That’s why I am delighted that Ambassador Koezuka and I
have signed a new tax convention between Japan and the Netherlands. This is a step in the right direction.
A ray of light in a dark time.
Businesses in both countries will benefit greatly from this agreement.
The new tax convention
carries the promise of economic growth for both countries.
It will promote mutual investment and economic relations
between our countries.
It will reduce rates of withholding tax.
And it contains well targeted anti-abuse provisions.
The parties have also agreed upon an arbitration procedure.
This will increase certainty for taxpayers in both countries.
Thanks to this agreement
Japanese businesses in the Netherlands
will be able to spread their wings even further.
That should offer solid resistance
to the economic and financial storm approaching Europe.
After all, we’re talking about 400 leading companies
with tens of thousands of employees.
We’re talking about the power of ‘kyosei’.
And we’re talking about the power of innovation
– an area in which the Japanese excel.
The Dutch government also
sees innovation as the fuel injection in our economic engine.
That is why we are stimulating innovation
through various tax measures, including:
- a salaries tax refund for R&D-related labour costs;
- the innovation box;
- and the new Research & Development Allowance.
Mr Komori,
I should like to turn to you at this point.
What better example of innovation is there
than Fujifilm’s pioneering new production line in Tilburg,
which you opened today together with the Dutch Minister
of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation?
Minister Verhagen said that Fujifilm belongs to our ‘high-tech’ top sector. And I agree.
But it doesn’t stop there: many other Japanese firms belong there too. High quality, innovative spirit and a focus on the common good
– these are your most valuable qualities.
These are also the key qualities of our new tax convention
and our partnership as a whole.
Everyone involved can be proud of this state-of-the-art tax convention.
It was a great pleasure to work together to make it a reality.
With this agreement, our countries’ governments
have blown a breath of fresh air through the bureaucratic landscape
of recent decades.
We are also building on our shared history.
That history began more than 400 years ago,
when the Japanese authorities allowed the Dutch
to trade on Deshima island.
Now, once again, we are showing that the government can benefit
the business community.
That is the sort of government that I, as State Secretary for Finance, believe in:
- a government that reaches out to the private sector;
- a government that paves the way for trade and growth;
- and, most of all: a government committed to progress.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Without knowing darkness we cannot know light.
It is precisely at times like these, when things look bleak,
that we must take strength and inspiration from hopeful signs.
Like a happy baby and a brave mother.
Or a growing friendship between peoples and countries.
Let that be our aim.
Our aim for our own future and for that of our children.
Thank you.