Interest groups

Almost half of the Dutch population are members of two or more interest groups or associations. Together, the interest groups form a network within which an major part of the social and political activities in the Netherlands takes place. In general, we can see that to a lesser or greater degree interest groups are (or should be) concerned with a number of social challenges. We have summarised these as listed below.

Your challenges

With our sector-specific knowledge and rich experience, we can support you and your interest group in your challenges, such as:

• Intertwining: Interest groups are becoming increasingly difficult to pigeonhole. Their activities go beyond the 'traditional boundaries' of the organisation. That stimulates innovation and is good for the members/consumers, such is the thought. This requires a reassessment of the mission and finding the right cooperation with partners.
• Branching out: Many interest groups have centralised their activities for the sake of efficiency and have therefore become alienated from their members. In order to activate the members, other organisation principles (regional, thematic, by size) are needed. Research shows that associations that closely involve their members in policy-making are stronger than those that do not.
• Responsibility: What’s in it for me?” is a question that is increasingly being asked. Organisations must demonstrate that they are doing the right things and are doing them well, not just to the members but also to management, Supervisory Board, society, partner organisations, the Dutch Tax Administration and possibly regulators.
• Earning: Many interest groups are looking for additional revenue models to reduce their dependence on donations, subsidies and membership fees. These can be found in individual services, benefit schemes for members or sales through the website (and/or bricks-and-mortar shop). New forms are to be found in partnerships or, for instance, crowdfunding.
• Your tax liability: Sales tax, profit tax and wage tax that may or may not apply, as well as the exemptions that apply to your interest group under certain conditions.

Our approach 

Within Mazars we have bundled our knowledge of interest groups in the Interest groups sectoral group. In addition to accountants, this team consists of various professional Mazars specialists. With this multidisciplinary team, we offer interest groups a range of tax, audit, and advisory services in order to be and remain in control financially and in tax matters. You have a single point of contact who manages a team of experienced professionals who understand your specific needs. 

Our services