The Dutch government does not have a majority in parliament that would back scrapping a dividend tax in a bid to stop Royal Dutch Shell PLC from moving its headquarters from The Hague to London, newspaper Algemeen Dagblad reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation.
Coalition partners D66 and ChristenUnie of Mark Rutte’s caretaker administration oppose the plan, while the labor party PvdA and GroenLinks also are not in favor of it, the paper reported.
Rutte’s administration mulled scrapping a 15 percent withholding tax, but is not optimistic about garnering the necessary support, a person briefed on the discussion said on condition of anonymity.
The plan was earlier reported by Dutch broadcaster RTL News.
Shell on Monday said that it planned to eliminate its dual share structure, drop “Royal Dutch” from its name, relocate its tax residence to the UK and move its top executives from The Hague to London.
The Dutch government immediately said it was “unpleasantly surprised” by the announcement.
The plan was hailed by British Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng as “a clear vote of confidence in the British economy” following Brexit.
Shell said that the plans “will have no impact on” a Dutch court ruling that the company must slash greenhouse gas emissions.
Additional reporting by AFP
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