Spending power rose just 0.3% last year, despite the strong economy which grew 2.7%, according to new figures from national statistics office CBS. The increase in spending power was the lowest since the end of the economic crisis in 2013 and 48% of the population actually had less to spend, the CBS said. People in jobs saw their spending power rise by 1.8%, while pensioners had less disposable income. The government’s macro-economic think-tank CPB, which calculates spending power slightly differently to the CBS, said in its latest forecast that spending power rose 0.2% last year and will rise by an average 1.2% this year. In June, prime minister Mark Rutte warned he might abandon corporate tax cuts if companies don’t put up wages. ‘The only thing which is going up is the salaries of senior staff, not people covered by collective labour agreements (cao),’ Rutte said. ‘They are not going up enough, and I do not consider that to be acceptable.’
Over 80 Kilos Cocaine Found On Dutch Plane In Argentina; Three Dutch Arrested
More than 80 kilograms of cocaine was found on a Martinair Cargo plane in Argentina. Seven men, three of whom...
