40,000 signatures later, all in support of transitional period for the 30% Rule change, and here we are.  In a few short days, we will learn whether or not our diplomacy and appeals to common sense had any effect.  

Our ask is simple and reasonable: include transition legislation in the 2019 budget so that the promised term limit of the 30rule is respected for current recipients of the policy. Keep your promises - Afspraak is Afspraak, A Deal is A Deal. 

Watch our video entitled “A Question for Premier Rutte” to understand our mission further.

Since my last message, as many of you know, we have been busy. In addition to lobbying, demonstrating, and speaking with both local and international media, we have turned our grassroots movement into a formal Stichting (Foundation). We have also been busy talking to brilliant legal minds across the Netherlands. After explaining our situation, they have advised us that it is very possible that should this policy pass as is, without a transition period, the Government may be in violation of Dutch & European Law.  

On September 18th when the Dutch Government presents its 2019 fiscal budget, if there is NO transition period to protect current 30rule recipients from any changes, the United Expats of The Netherlands Stichting will begin exploring legal options.
 
In order to be sure that there are legitimate grounds for a potential lawsuit, the UENL Stichting would like to commission a “Legal Opinion” from a qualified and influential law firm here in the Netherlands with significant experience with cases such as ours. We already have pricing and a plan in place with two law firms.
 
Since no actual lawsuit can be filed before the proposal is actual ratified into law (January 2019), a Legal Opinion is a document illustrating our legal arguments that will be distributed to members of Parliament before they debate this very issue in November/December 2018.  A Legal Opinion is also the first step of a lawsuit as it encompasses much of the legal research necessary in order to successfully argue our case in Dutch courts.
 
Here is where YOU come in …
 
You already showed your support for us in signing the petition – a petition we delivered personally, along with about 100 demonstrators, to the Dutch Government on May 29th. Now, we are asking for your help again. I will not go into details here, you can find them on our GoFundMe page. But, in short, lawyers are not cheap. We DO have some funds leftover from our first round of fundraising, but it is not enough to cover the cost of a legal opinion.
 
Please take a look at our game plan on GoFundMe, and if you can, contribute what you feel comfortable contributing. Even more, please help us get the word out. Share the campaign with friends, family, strangers – anyone you think might want to join this fight.  The truth is this: our best chance of success is if we unite and fight together. Power in numbers. It will take the combined efforts and resources of all of us to convince the Government to honor their commitments to us.  
 
gofundme.com/30rule
 
Last Bit of Housekeeping ...
 
Now that we are a Stichting, we will be shifting our main communications to a public Facebook Page, instead of our private Facebook Group. So please “Like” and “Follow” (be sure to set your preferences to "SEE FIRST" and "ON") to stay up to date with our progress.
                                                                                    
On behalf of the UENL Stichting, thank you for helping us fight,
Mike
www.unitedexpats.nl