Editing Economy of the Netherlands (section)

==== Home mortgage interest deduction ====
The Netherlands was{{when|date=October 2023}} one of the few countries in the world where the interest paid on mortgages is almost fully deductible from income tax. Since 2013 big changes were made. The conditions allowing a borrowing of more than 116% of the value of the home were reduced to 106% and are still continuously being reduced every year. The deduction is also capped to 50.5% and reducing every year.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tariefsaanpassing aftrek kosten eigen woning|url=https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/belastingdienst/prive/woning/uw_hypotheek_of_lening/tariefsaanpassing_aftrek_kosten_eigen_woning/tariefsaanpassing_aftrek_kosten_eigen_woning|website=Belastingdienst|access-date=15 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131120755/http://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/belastingdienst/prive/woning/uw_hypotheek_of_lening/tariefsaanpassing_aftrek_kosten_eigen_woning/tariefsaanpassing_aftrek_kosten_eigen_woning|archive-date=31 January 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Together with the after-effects of the [[Great Recession]] the result was a housing crisis, with a decrease of prices almost 25% percent in some areas. Recent years have shown a recovery of 10% to even 20% per year in the most popular cities.

The Service sector accounts for more than half of the national income, primarily in transportation, distribution and [[logistics]], financial areas, software development and the creative industry. The breadth of service providers in financial services has contributed to the Netherlands achieving a [[Division for the Advancement of Women|DAW]] Index score of 5 in 2012. Industrial activity is dominated by the machinery, electronics/high tech industry, metalworking, oil refining, chemical, and food-processing industries. Construction amounts to about 6% of GDP. Agriculture and fishing, although visible and traditional Dutch activities, account for just 2%.

The Netherlands continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment and is one of the five largest investors in the United States. The economy experienced a slowdown in 2005, but in 2006 recovered to the fastest pace in six years on the back of increased exports<ref>{{Cite web|title=Netherlands Business Overview|url=https://bizpages.org/countries--NL--Netherlands|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420173355/https://bizpages.org/countries--NL--Netherlands |archive-date=20 April 2020 }}</ref> and strong investment. The pace of job growth reached 10-year highs in 2007. The Netherlands is the fifth-most competitive economy in the world, according to the [[World Economic Forum]]'s [[Global Competitiveness Report]].<ref name="wefcomp">{{cite web|url=http://www.weforum.org/issues/global-competitiveness |title=Global Competitiveness Report 2012–2013 |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=5 September 2012 |access-date=11 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210040419/http://www.weforum.org/issues/global-competitiveness |archive-date=10 December 2014 }}</ref>