THE HAGUE--Dutch State Secretary of Social Affairs and Labour Jetta Klijnsma on Thursday sent a law proposal to the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament to introduce child allowance (kinderbijslag) in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba per January 1, 2016.
If the Second Chamber and consequently the First Chamber approve the law proposal, which is expected to be the case, parents with children up to the age of 18 will be receiving child benefit of US $38 per child per month.
According to Klijnsma, the allowance will especially benefit low income families. “In this manner I want to contribute to the combating of poverty in the Caribbean Netherlands,” she stated in a release.
Under the current system, parents on the three islands can receive a fiscal compensation for their children. However, parents with a low income barely profit from this structure because they pay little or no taxes and as such cannot claim this compensation. Only some 2,000 parents currently profit from this fiscal compensation.
The new child allowance law which the State Secretary has sent to Parliament for handling will replace the current fiscal regulation. Under the new law, all 5,000 parents in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba will be receiving a monthly contribution of US $38 per child.
Another benefit of the new law once approved and implemented is that the allowance will have no limit where it comes to the number of children per family. The current fiscal compensation is limited to a maximum of two children per family, whereas under the new regulation, all children will receive child allowance.
Klijnsma promised that the monthly amount of US $38 can be adapted upwards if need be. The child allowance will also be adjusted periodically to reflect the increase of the cost of living.
