Tjebbe van Oostenbruggen explained

Tjebbe van Oostenbruggen
Office:State Secretary for Tax Affairs and the Tax Administration
Term Start:15 November 2024
Predecessor:Folkert Idsinga
Primeminister:Dick Schoof
Minister:Eelco Heinen
Office2:Member of the House of Representatives
Term Start2:6 December 2023
Term End2:15 November 2024
Party:New Social Contract
Birth Date:22 September 1979
Birth Place:Zeist, Netherlands
Alma Mater:Maastricht University
Children:2

Tjebbe van Oostenbruggen (pronounced as /nl/; born 22 September 1979) is a Dutch politician of New Social Contract (NSC). He has served as State Secretary for Tax Affairs and the Tax Administration in the Schoof cabinet since 15 November 2024. He was a member of the House of Representatives between December 2023 and November 2024.

Early life and career

Van Oostenbruggen was born in Zeist, Utrecht, and he attended secondary education in the city of Utrecht. He studied international business at Maastricht University, and he started his career in 2004 at a finance and risk consultancy firm.[1] [2]

In 2009, he started working for managed service provider Brainnet, supporting companies in the banking, insurance, and IT industries, where he served as a commercial manager and director. He became its CEO in 2016, and he sold Brainnet to PRO Unlimited, an American company that was later renamed Magnit, in 2021. RTL Nieuws reported that the sale earned Van Oostenbruggen €54 million, and Quote magazine has estimated his net worth at €70 million.[2] [3] [4] He stayed on as EMEA president for a year, and he became partner of a new firm called Genua Capital in 2023.[1] [2]

Politics

Van Oostenbruggen joined NSC when it was founded by Pieter Omtzigt in the run-up to the November 2023 general election. He was placed fifteenth on the party list, and he was elected.[1] His focus was on social affairs and defense personnel and materiel before changing to finances, employment, and labor migration.[5] [6] Van Oostenbruggen said he wanted to improve the Dutch business climate, and he argued that entrepreneurs were underrepresented in parliament.[1] NSC entered a right-wing coalition government with the Party for Freedom (PVV), the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), and the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB), led by Dick Schoof as prime minister. In August 2024, Van Oostenbruggen assisted Omtzigt in negotiations over next year's budget, and he later supported Nicolien van Vroonhoven in negotiations over asylum measures in October 2024, when Omtzigt was recovering from illness.

Van Oostenbruggen succeeded Folkert Idsinga as State Secretary for Tax Affairs and the Tax Administration in the Schoof cabinet on 15 November 2024, two weeks after Idsinga resigned over questions about his personal finances.[7] [8] His portfolio includes taxation, financial relations with lower governments, state ownership of Holland Casino and, and Domains Movable Property.[9] He was tasked with reforming the wealth tax after the Supreme Court had invalidated its reliance on assumed yields in 2021 and had subsequently rejected a proposed transition arrangement. A bill by one of Van Oostenbruggen's predecessors to tax actual yields was deemed overly complex and difficult to implement by the Council of State in November 2024.[10] [11]

Personal life

Van Oostenbruggen has a South Korean wife and two daughters, and he lived in De Meern as of 2024.[7] [12] He is a member of the Dutch Reformed Churches, and he plays volleyball.[7] [3]

Electoral history

Year! scope="col" rowspan=2
BodyPartyVotesResult.
Party seatsIndividual
2023House of RepresentativesNew Social Contractstyle=text-align:right 15style=text-align:right 525style=text-align:right 20[13]

Notes and References

  1. News: NSC'er Van Oostenbruggen beoogde nieuwe staatssecretaris Financiën . 12 November 2024 . 12 November 2024 . nl . . NSC member Van Oostenbruggen proposed as State Secretary for Tax Affairs and the Tax Administration .
  2. Web site: Tjebbe van Oostenbruggen . nl . . 15 November 2024 .
  3. De rijkste man van de Tweede Kamer heeft 70 miljoen en woont in Vinex-wijk: 'Wil geen villa in Bloemendaal' . Elodie Verweij . subscription . 17 July 2024 . Van Oostenbruggen . Tjebbe . 17 July 2024 . nl . . The richest man of the House of Representatives has €70 million and lives in an ordinary suburban neighborhood: 'I do not want a villa in Bloemendaal' .
  4. News: Kamerlid en voormalig ondernemer Tjebbe van Oostenbruggen (NSC) nieuwe staatssecretaris Financiën . 12 November 2024 . 13 November 2024 . nl . . MP and former entrepreneur Tjebbe van Oostenbruggen (NSC) new State Secretary for Tax Affairs and the Tax Administration .
  5. Web site: Woordvoerderschappen Nieuw Sociaal Contract . https://web.archive.org/web/20240117201041/https://storage.googleapis.com/groep-pieter-website/Overzicht-Woordvoerderschappen-fractie-NSC.pdf . 17 January 2024 . nl . . New Social Contract spokespersonships . .
  6. Web site: Tweede Kamerfractie . . nl . 12 November 2024 . Parliamentary group in the House .
  7. News: De Haan . Marko . Overheidsfinanciën zijn nieuw voor hem. Toch draagt NSC 'selfmade miljonair' Tjebbe van Oostenbruggen aan als nieuwe staatssecretaris . Government finances are new to him. Yet NSC nominates 'self-made millionaire' Tjebbe van Oostenbruggen as the new State secretary . . The Hague . nl . Mediahuis NRC b.v. . 2024-11-12 . 2024-11-12 . subscription .
  8. News: 's Ochtends beëdigd, vanavond al ontslag? Bijzondere eerste dag voor nieuwe staatssecretaris . Verweij . Elodie . . 15 November 2024 . nl . Sworn in in the morning, resigning tonight? Special first day for new state secretary . 15 November 2024 .
  9. Web site: Tjebbe van Oostenbruggen . . 15 November 2024 .
  10. News: Raad van State kraakt wetsvoorstel 'eerlijker' vermogensbelasting en stuurt kabinet terug naar de tekentafel . subscription . 2 December 2024 . Hofs . Yvonne . 3 December 2024 . nl . . Council of State severely criticizes bill for 'fairer' wealth tax and sends cabinet back to the drawing board .
  11. News: Raad van State veegt de vloer aan met nieuw plan om vermogens te belasten . 2 December 2024 . 3 December 2024 . nl . . Council of State tears apart new wealth tax proposal .
  12. News: Van Oostenbruggen volgt Idsinga op als staatssecretaris Financiën . subscription . 12 November 2024 . 13 November 2024 . nl . . Van Oostenbruggen succeeds Idsinga as State Secretary for Tax Affairs and the Tax Administration .
  13. Web site: Proces-verbaal van de uitslag van de verkiezing van de Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 2023 d.d. 4 december 2023 . Dutch Electoral Council . nl . 21 December 2023 . PDF . 4 December 2023 . Report of the results of the election of the House of Representatives on 4 December 2023 . 185–186 .