Parliamentary questions concerning TOZO loans for frontier entrepreneurs

The Dutch Social Affairs and Employment Minister, Wouter Koolmees, recently fielded a series of parliamentary questions on the topic of the TOZO (Temporary Income Support) scheme and the application thereof to the frontier entrepreneurship community. Non-Dutch resident frontier entrepreneurs whose business is based in the Netherlands are ineligible for Dutch cost-of-living support, it being their country of residence where they should apply for support of this nature. Then again they will qualify for other facilities including reduced-interest business capital loans to a maximum of 10,157 euros each, and will likewise be eligible for the TVL, NOW and TOA schemes on condition that they should fulfil the relevant conditions.

The TONK (Temporary Support towards Necessary Costs) scheme resembles the TOZO scheme in that both provide for social benefits, as a type of support the scope of which is strictly domestic. The principle of equality simply does not allow cost-of-living support being awarded by exception to those self-employed individuals who are resident in Germany or Belgium while carrying on a business in the Netherlands. After all, this would open the door to sole trading residents of any of the other EU Member States, of the EEA and of Switzerland with a business based in the Netherlands laying claim, by the same token, to TOZO support.

Dutch version: Kamervragen Tozo voor grensondernemers