[usemigrant]

As a US-born immigrant to the Netherlands 10 years ago, I'll differ slightly. Bureaucracy here IS real, but I observe a relentless pragmatism among individuals. Rules are not, I've observed, sacred. The Dutch are inveterate jaywalkers, literally and figuratively.

Every Dutch (and American, to be fair) homeowner at some point will have to make decisions about what work to do by the book, and what gets done "zwart" (yes, "black" as in market. No permissions sought and Usually cash "under the table" too.) At least in my experience and observation in the Hague, anything non-structural within the building envelope is done this way by default.

Digression: the politics of migration here are far from settled and this is one implicated area. Dodging permits and taxes is often stereotyped here as behavior of migrants from the eastern EU working in bulding trades but my native-born Dutch contractor was surprised when I told him I wanted the finish work in our house done on the books with a factuur, taxes paid. Even for things outside the building envelope, there are substantial gray areas where one could seek permission (and thus denial) but one need not.

Honestly the thing that rang most false to me in this article, though, is the bit about parallel parking competence. My experience is resolutely the opposite to the point of ridicule. After a decade I can count on two hands the number of successful parallel parking attempts I have observed (i.e. made by locals, not me) in The Hague requiring 3 or fewer moves. 7, specifically. I keep score because on my bike I am often obstructed by people attempting to park and it baffles me how people who do this so regularly can be so bad at it.

[fleddr]

I'm a dutch native and can give some background on the "black money". Growing up in the 80s, it was everywhere, in every sector. You could work a factory job and in part be paid in untaxed money.

Now that society is a lot less cash based, this practice is very uncommon as it comes to wages in normal jobs. It still exists in exactly the type of work you describe: any type of contracting where a private individual (home owner) is the client. Cleaners and gardeners working for private individuals may also be entirely paid this way.

These last remaining pockets of untaxed money continue to exist as the cost of regulation is higher than the reward. For example, cleaners typically do it as a side job, and they'd simple stop cleaning altogether when taxed on their low income. So it's better to just tolerate it.

Further, black money is considered spending money. You can't really hoard it and buy a house with it. You'd have to explain to the IRS where this money comes from. So it's considered "extra" money, money to directly spend in the economy, so it flows back in any case.

[Freak_NL]

I understand the analogy, but jaywalking isn't an offence here.

(In English: https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2017/09/05/when-there-is-...)

[joelbluminator]

How is that difference than the U.S? People don't try to dodge taxes there?

[usemigrant]

It's not different in this respect, which was my point: the reason planning works (or doesn't) in NL isn't due to deeply ingrained orderly, rule-following cultural norms at the individual level relative to the US.

I think the central thrust of the article - which I agree with - is that what works in NL works because there is political buy-in from the voting public for meaningful restrictions on the activity of real-estate developers with specific, desired outcomes.

[t0mas88]

It's exactly the same everywhere. Taxes are rarely paid in full on cash kind of jobs, because there is no way to enforce it.