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Practical
information

Groningen is a breeding ground for entrepreneurship and opportunity. With its historic charm and modern amenities, Groningen offers a unique environment for successful business. The University of Groningen, for example, provides a constant stream of young talent and research, ensuring a dynamic exchange of knowledge between academics and businesses. Below is an overview of important information about doing business:

  • Business.gov.nl provides information for domestic and foreign entrepreneurs who want to start a business or do business with The Netherlands. Business.gov.nl collaborates with various Dutch government and semi-government organizations to provide information on laws and regulations, subsidies and more.

  • KVK, the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, informs and supports entrepreneurs. The main legal tasks of the KVK are registering companies and providing information and advice.

  • The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland) helps entrepreneurs in sustainable, agricultural, innovative and international business through a number of programs and subsidy schemes.

  • The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) offers comprehensive services to companies establishing or expanding their operations in The Netherlands, providing a valuable database of downloadable resources on their website Invest in Holland.

  • The Municipality of Groningen provides a lot of information for entrepreneurs on its website, such as information on permits, starting a business and subsidies.

For international companies, different rules matter. How do you hire staff and what about taxes? In the overview below, we highlight some specific topics:

  • For information on procedures for employing workers, payroll and contracts, the guide from Business.gov.nl is helpful.

  • Highly skilled migrants can follow a simplified procedure for obtaining work and residence permits. On the site IND (Immigration and Naturalization Service) you can find a convenient step-by-step plan. In the Netherlands, as an entrepreneur, you pay business tax through the Tax Administration (Belastingdienst). You can find all information about this on the website Tax Administration.

  • The 30% rule is a tax incentive for employees with specific skills recruited to the Netherlands from abroad. These employees are considered "extraterritorial" and under this ruling their employer is allowed to provide 30% of their salary as an allowance, including compensations. More info on the website International welcome center north.

  • Want to start your own business? Then check out this page on our website.

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