Loss of scarce expertise

It is permissible for expat employees to change jobs while they continue to qualify for the 30% tax ruling, albeit that the new employer and the employee need to seek permission from the Tax and Customs Administration to continue the scheme. The maximum interval between the date of termination of the old job and the date of commencement of the new one has been fixed at three months, the underlying argument being that any employee whom it takes more than three months to land a new job clearly cannot be said any longer to boast “scarce specific expertise”. The scheme offers no leeway for employees to render it plausible in any other way that they do indeed boast scare specific expertise, or for taking a “sabbatical leave from work” for a period of their own choice. As soon as the expat worker exceeds the three-month term governing the gap between jobs, this will irrevocably cause him or her to forfeit the 30% tax ruling.