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Netherlands vs United Kingdom

Side-by-side comparison of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom for founders weighing an EU holding-friendly jurisdiction against a post-Brexit common-law base.

Side-by-side

TaxationNetherlandsUnited Kingdom
Corporate tax25.8%25%
VAT21%20%
Dividend tax15%0%
FormationNetherlandsUnited Kingdom
Difficulty (1–5)31
Cost1500 EUR50 GBP
Time7 days1 days
Banking & PaymentsNetherlandsUnited Kingdom
Banking difficulty (1–5)33
StripeYesYes
PayPalYesYes
WiseYesYes
OperationsNetherlandsUnited Kingdom
Accounting difficulty (1–5)32
Payroll difficulty (1–5)32
Compliance difficulty (1–5)32
Market accessNetherlandsUnited Kingdom
EU memberYesNo
EEA memberYesNo
CurrencyEURGBP

When Netherlands wins

  • You want EU single-market access by default and the participation exemption
  • You're structuring a holding company benefitting from the Dutch treaty network
  • You want the reduced 19% CIT rate on the first EUR 200,000 of profits

When United Kingdom wins

  • You want the fastest possible incorporation (Companies House ~24 hours)
  • You want zero withholding tax on dividends paid to non-resident shareholders
  • You want a common-law jurisdiction with English-language administrative defaults

Related

Sources

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