Doing Business in the Netherlands 2012 - American Chamber of ...

Introduction
It is with great pleasure that we present you with a copy of “Doing
Business in the Netherlands 2012”, the popular reference guide which
describes the legal and fiscal environment of the Netherlands and the
rules and regulations that companies should consider when doing
business in our country. This publication discusses a wide array of
topics, such as the main aspects of establishing a profitable firm, real
estate, employment law, tax and many other legal issues and
regulations of relevance.
Doing business in the Netherlands is attractive from many
perspectives. One of the main reasons is that international trade has
been key to the Dutch economy for centuries, which resulted in a
transparent and internationally oriented economic system. To keep the
economy strong and internationally competitive, the Dutch
government has created a tax regime that strongly encourages
entrepreneurship and foreign investment. In fact, in “The Global
Competitiveness Report 2011-2012” published by the World
Economic Forum (WEF), the Netherlands improves one rank to 7th
this year, reflecting a modest strengthening of its institutional
framework as well as the efficiency and stability of its financial
markets.
For over 60 years, Baker & McKenzie Amsterdam has assisted
international companies looking for investment opportunities in the
Netherlands and advised Dutch and international companies already
conducting business in this country. We have poured our knowledge
and experience into this guide and we trust that you will find the
provided information on doing business in the Netherlands useful.
2 Baker & McKenzie