Taxes in more detail

We monitor (inter)national developments in the context of tax transparency. Complying with the legislation in the countries in which we operate our activities, we have filed a country-by-country report in the Netherlands and our notifications in other countries to the extent required. Also in 2022, these (inter)national developments were discussed to assess whether our stance towards these developments should be adjusted. We hereby continue to strive for optimal tax transparency. As a result of this continuous assessment, the following details of our tax position are provided.

PostNL General information in € million, unless indicated otherwise

Given the different activities we operate across our business segments, we pay a number of different types of tax. In addition to corporate income tax, VAT and sales tax (borne and collected) and wage tax & social security contributions (borne and collected) are the most material ones. In 2022, we paid €480 million (2021: €547 million) in tax.

PostNL Taxes paid by type in € million

The comparison between 2021 and 2022 shows some general changes in our tax metrics. Both Corporate income tax and VAT and sales tax decreased substantially compared to 2021, due to timing and the material lower business performance. Wage tax and social security contributions increased due to higher salaries as an outcome of the negotiations for a new collective labour agreement. The Other taxes increased mainly due to higher custom duties (including VAT impact) as a result of the abolition of the low value exemption on VAT.

Tax information per country

The vast majority of our business is concentrated in the Benelux. To provide transparency on the locations of our business, results and corresponding taxes, we provide a breakdown with general information and total tax contribution (borne and collected) as well as a list of group entities in appendix 6.

PostNL General information by country, in € million, unless indicated otherwise

PostNL Total tax contribution (borne & collected) in € million

• 1 Zero amounts in this table are mainly the result of rounding in € million and therefore representing smaller amounts.
• 2 Taxes borne represent the taxes that are an expense/(income) item as included in the income statement.
• 3 Taxes collected represent the taxes (paid)/received included in our cash flow, also representing payments made on behalf of other parties.
• 4 The difference between the corporate income tax borne (€36 million) and the total income tax expense (€(330) million) is due to changes in deferred taxes. This substantial difference in 2022 is mainly the result of the change in pension accounting classification, see note 2.4.2 to the consolidated financial statements.
• 5 In 2022, as in 2021, we did not benefit from material tax incentives. We did deduct several small tax allowances provided by law (e.g., the energy- and environmental investment allowance in the Netherlands), but these were not material. Therefore, tax incentives are not separately included in the table above.