Amsterdam startup scene

It’s not hard to understand the reason Amsterdam is known as the startup capital of Europe! There are so many thriving new businesses in the Dutch capital, including Adyen, Elastic and Booking.com. Some of the reasons to choose Amsterdam as a base for your business expansion or European startup include:

– It’s an attractive city in which to live and work, with a huge pool of international work talent to draw on for recruitment purposes. The city has an amazing history and a compact size, making it easy to travel between different areas. English is widely spoken so communication is generally not an issue for English speakers.

– Amsterdam is a tech-savvy city, so it’s not surprising companies like Tesla, NextDoor and Netflix chose this location as a European HQ

– Amsterdam has a great infrastructure and connectivity with other major European cities, like Paris, London, Berlin and Stockholm which makes it easy to grow any business. The capital is also home to one of the highest broadband concentrations in the world

Setting up a business in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is ideal for startups as business costs are remarkably low. KPMG highlight that the Netherlands is one of the top countries for low business location costs, particularly in the digital arena and for research and development.

Starting up a business in Amsterdam is remarkably easy. If you’re based outside the EU you can apply for a Startup Visa and will just need an innovative business plan in place and the available financial resources to prove you can exist for at least a year in the Netherlands. What’s more, there are a variety of innovation incentives and R&D tax credits available to provide even more incentive to grow your new business in Amsterdam.

When you initially start up your business you need to pay €50 to register at the local Chamber of Commerce, although incorporated businesses (like a BV) will need to pay for a notarial deed, which costs around €300. It’s not essential to have startup capital prior to registering a BV, either.

Once your startup is registered with the Chamber of Commerce, all details are automatically passed on to the Tax and Customs Administration, known as Belastingdienst. The business is then issued a VAT registration number.

The corporate income tax rate in the Netherlands is 20% on the first €200,000 of business profits, with 25% due on any profits over this amount.

If you’re planning an international expansion, you should get in touch with Goodwille! We’re experts in helping businesses expand to the UK and can provide advice and support with everything you need for a successful expansion.