Cooperative

What is a cooperative?

You can set up a cooperative with one or more partners. You benefits from advantages of a collective. For example, if one member becomes ill, the other member can take over the work.

The cooperative consists of members. Member can enter or leave the cooperative without jeopardising its continued existence. This is different from a general partnership (VOF) or professional partnership (maatschap), where partners and members are not allowed to just leave. Control rests with the 'general meeting of members' (GMM) or in Dutch the Algemene Ledenvergadering (ALV). One of the ALV's tasks is to appoint a board to manage the cooperative's affairs. The board enters into agreements with and for its members. All members have voting rights.

You distribute the cooperative’s profit in proportion to the work that a member has performed for the cooperative. The members make agreements about this themselves. Members can bring money into the cooperative through separate member accounts. This member capital is not tradable, unlike shares in a private limited company (BV).

Two common forms are the 'business cooperative' (bedrijfscoöperatie) and the 'entrepreneurs' cooperative' (ondernemerscoöperatie).

Business cooperative

A business cooperative supports the business interests of its members in certain areas, e.g. procurement or advertising. A well-known example of a business cooperative in the Netherlands is FrieslandCampina, a large dairy cooperative whose members are dairy farmers who share in the cooperative's profits.

Entrepreneurs cooperative

The members of an entrepreneurs' cooperative work independently, but can also join forces to take on certain projects. This legal form is ideal for self-employed individuals without their own employees (zelfstandige zonder personeel, zzp'er).It enables its members to take on assignments or projects that they wouldn't be able to tackle on their own. This also has benefits for the customer who then has a single contact person and greater assurance that the project will be completed on time. An entrepreneurs' cooperative is ideal for small-scale and/or short-term collaborative ventures.

Setting up a cooperative

You can set up a cooperative with one or more partners. You'll have to get a civil-law notary to draft a deed to establish the cooperative and list the cooperative in the Dutch Commercial Register (Handelsregister). You do not need startup capital.

All partners are registered in the Commercial Register. Are you acting on behalf of the cooperative when it is not yet registered? Then you are personally liable.

Costs

If you set up cooperative, you pay notary costs, a registration fee at the KVK and administration costs. Members contribute to the cooperative's set-up and running costs. The costs for a civil-law notary differ between €500 and €1,000. You pay a one-time fee of €50 to register your cooperative with the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce.

In addition, there are costs for keeping records. An cooperative must file annual accounts and deposit with the KVK. The information you have to submit depends on the size of your company. The average annual administration costs range from € 600 to € 1,800.

Taxes

The cooperative’s profit consists of 2 parts. The first part can be attributed in proportion to the activities of the members and is called ‘verlengstukwinst’ in Dutch. Members with a sole proprietorship pay income tax(inkomstenbelasting) on the profit that they receive from the cooperative. The Dutch Tax and Customs Administration only considers you an entrepreneur, if you also have other clients. If the verlengstukwinst is paid to a member who participates within a BV, the cooperative needs to pay corporate income tax(vennootschapsbelasting) on this.

The cooperative itself also makes a profit. A cooperative has to pay corporate income tax on its profits.

If the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration regards you (as a member of the cooperative) as an entrepreneur for income tax, you are entitled to an SME profit exemption(mkb-winstvrijstelling). If you also meet the hour criterion, you are entitled to more tax benefits, such as the private business ownership allowance(zelfstandigenaftrek) and retirement reserve (oudedagsreserve). Starters may also be eligible for tax relief for new companies(startersaftrek) in the first 3 years.

The cooperative pays VAT. In addition, individual members can also be entrepreneurs for VAT. In that case, you charge VAT when you invoice the cooperative. Whether you are an entrepreneur for VAT depends on your specific situation.

Liability

A cooperative is a legal entity, which means that its committee members are theoretically not liable for any debts. There are, however, exceptions to this rule. For example, mismanagement, negligence or failure to list the cooperative in the Dutch Commercial Register.

You can agree upon establishment whether or not members are liable. There are 3 options to choose from:

• UA: Cooperative with excluded liability (coöperatie met uitgesloten aansprakelijkheidcooperative). Members are not liable for any debts. This also applies after bankruptcy.
• BA: Cooperative with limited liability (coöperatie met beperkte aansprakelijkheid). Members are liable for debts up to an agreed amount.
• WA: Cooperative with legal liability (coöperatie met wettelijke aansprakelijkheid). Members are equally and jointly liable for shortages of the cooperative.

If you choose for WA or BA, the board needs to submit a list of its members to the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce every year. This way, creditors know who they can claim their money from.

Signing authority

The board as a whole is authorised to sign. This means that members may either jointly or individually sign contracts or perform certain legal acts on behalf of the cooperative, such as reporting a change in the Commercial Register. These agreements are laid down in the articles of association.

The board can also choose to appoint power of attorney to someone else. This person is then authorised to act on behalf of the company. It can be useful to register this person (in Dutch) in the Commercial Register. This way your business partners also know who is allowed to act on behalf of the company.

Personnel

A cooperative can employ staff. You then have to pay payroll taxes and social contributions for your personnel. If you are hiring an employee for the first time, you must register as an employer with the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration. You must also report this to the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce. Read the checklist Employing staff in the Netherlands for more information.

Social security and national insurance contributions

As a member of a cooperative, you'll be entitled to an old-age pension (AOW) when you reach retirement age. You'll have to supplement this pension yourself. Start as soon as possible to keep your contributions affordable.

Since you're not an employee, you're not entitled to any of the benefits available to regular employees, such as sickness, unemployment or disability benefit (ziektewet, WW and WIA respectively). It's up to you to take out disability insurance as soon as you start your business. If you are pregnant, you are entitled to maternity allowance of at least 16 weeks. You can apply at The Employee Insurance Agency (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen, UWV).

Health insurance is mandatory and basic cover is sufficient. You'll pay a premium to your health insurance company and a contribution as part of your tax return.

Depending on your type of business, it can be wise to take out additional insurance.

Ending a cooperative

When dissolving your cooperative, you require a formal decision from the general meeting of members. A cooperative ceases to exists once all outstanding debts are paid. This is called 'vereffening' in Dutch.

Mutual insurance company

The mutual insurance company (onderlinge waarborgmaatschappij) is a cooperative in which the members make insurance agreements with each other and the company, so that all members can profit from the agreements.