Tax reactions on entrepreneurial philanthropy: The case of the Netherlands

Companies and corporate foundations have become important players in philanthropy. For many companies, philanthropy is part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy. They brought their entrepreneurial customs, values and expectations into the world of philanthropy. This gave rise to new forms of philanthropy next to the conventional form of donations. These developments lead to several questions related to tax incentives, including gift deduction, for charitable donations and charities. Many of those questions are at the top of the charitable agenda in the Netherlands. The Netherlands struggles to fit entrepreneurial forms of philanthropy into its system for gift deduction and charities. This chapter discusses the general business rationales for corporate philanthropy. It also gives a brief overview of corporate philanthropy in the Netherlands and discusses problems which have been encountered in the Netherlands in relation to deductibility of corporate gifts, donations of shares, donations to for-profit entities and program-related investments, solutions that have already been found and solutions that are proposed. In addition, the chapter discuss the threats a proposal for an EU Directive on a common corporate tax base (CCCTB) entails for an EU level playing field of corporate giving and competition for corporate donations.