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

18.9.2 Random Depreciation
Random accelerated depreciation (e.g., in one year) may be claimed
for certain environment-friendly assets that are on the list of assets and
regions compiled by the Ministry of Environmental Affairs. In
addition, other assets on the list compiled by the Ministry of
Economic Affairs are eligible for random depreciation.
Furthermore, the motion picture industry may claim random
depreciation or apply for an investment allowance.
18.9.3 Provisions and Tax-Free Reserves
Provisions can be created for future expenses, the cause of which
exists on the balance sheet date. An increase in such provision leads
to a decrease in taxable income and vice versa. For example,
provisions can be created for the payment of certain pensions, for
events that may occur in the future and for bad debts.
A company alienating a (tangible or intangible) asset may create a
reinvestment reserve if the asset’s sales proceeds exceed its book
value for tax purposes. The reinvestment must take place within a
period of three years, otherwise the reserve must be added to taxable
profits. It is not required that the new asset has the same economic
function, unless the alienated asset is not depreciated or is depreciated
over a period of more than 10 years.
A tax-free allocation of profits to a reserve is also permitted for the
purpose of spreading intermittently recurring costs (“equalization
reserve”).
18.10 Losses
A tax loss incurred during a fiscal year may be carried back to the
preceding or carried forward to the nine subsequent years, subject to
certain detailed anti-abuse provisions. This means, for example, that a
tax loss in 2011 may be credited with taxable profit of the year 2010
or the years 2012 up to and including 2020.
186 Baker & McKenzie