Singles: Society too focused on ‘together’

Singles: Society too focused on ‘together’

According to a report by NOSop3, politicians in the Netherlands are paying too little attention to the financial difficulties faced by single people. With the cost of living increasing, singles are struggling more than ever, with one in three reporting difficulties in making ends meet, according to I&O research.

Despite the fact that the number of single-person households has increased eight fold in the past sixty years, society is still geared towards families as the cornerstone of society. Politicians and single people are calling for changes to be made to the tax system, which currently favours married couples and those with children.

Those without partners or children, who do not have a cohabitation contract or who are not married, miss out on tax benefits. Additionally, a variety of other expenses, such as rent, energy bills, streaming services, supermarket pricing, and waste collection charges, are more expensive for singles.

Although the issue has been raised before in political circles, there has been little recent discussion. However, seven of the seventeen major political parties included something about single people in their programs, mainly about the housing market.

The government has no plans to implement any changes to the tax system in the near future, as it would require a fundamental change to the system and have budgetary consequences.