U bevindt zich op: Home › Subjects › Budget › Budget day and Accounting day Huidig dossier: Budget day and Accounting day

Budget day

Every third Tuesday of September is Budget Day. The Queen arrives in the Binnenhof of The Hague in her golden carriage to deliver the Speech from the Throne. With this speech she opens the new parliamentary year of the States General (the Senate and the House of Representatives). All ministers, state secretaries, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives and other invited guests are present in the Knights’ Hall when the Queen delivers the Speech from the Throne. In this speech the Queen presents a summary of the most important plans of the government for the following year.

Later that day the Minister of Finance goes to the House of Representatives with the briefcase. On behalf of the government, he presents the national budget and the Budget Memorandum during the first meeting in the new parliamentary year. The minister opens the briefcase on the government table and presents the contents to the House Keeper. The latter hands the national budget and the Budget Memorandum to the president of the House of Representatives.

Why the third Tuesday of September?
From the start of our Kingdom, in 1815, the parliamentary year of the States General is opened once a year. Originally on the first Monday in November. Later, it became the third Monday in October. Still later, in 1848, it was changed to the third Monday in September. The earlier date gave the members of parliament, the members of the States General, more time to handle the budget before the end of the year. After all, the national budget consists of bills that must be handled and approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives, before the money may be spent and the taxes collected from 1 January onwards.

In retrospect, the Monday turned out not to be such a suitable day. Members of Parliament living far away from The Hague had to start their journey on Sunday in order to arrive on time. The means of transport in those days were not very quick. In particular the members of the Christian political parties objected to travelling on Sunday. In 1887 it was therefore decided to open the States General, by delivering the Speech from the Throne, on the third Tuesday of September.

What are the origins of the Dutch name for Budget Day (i.e. 'Prinsjesdag', literal translation: Prince's Day)?
From September 1930 the third Tuesday in September is referred to as the 'Prince's Day'. During the reign of Stadtholder Prince William V (1748-1806), his birthday, 8 March, was known as the 'Prince's Day'. In those days this was one of the most popular national feasts in our country. At the time, during the French occupation, the Netherlands was a Republic and not a Kingdom. The supporters of the family of Orange Nassau used that day to show their support of the prince and the kingdom. No-one knows exactly why, many years later, the name 'Prince's Day' became known as the annual opening day of the States General. It is however true that the Royal Family could be cheered on. The current 'Prince's Day' is still used by many people from all corners of the country to wave their flags and orange symbols to greet the Queen and her family.

What is in the briefcase?
Everyone knows the briefcase which the Minister of Finance takes to the House of Representatives on Budget Day. The inscription on the briefcase, in golden letters, reads: 'THIRD TUESDAY IN SEPTEMBER'.
The briefcase does not contain the entire national budget. After all, the national budget consists of the budgets of all fourteen ministries which do not fit in the briefcase. Part of the budget is therefore delivered separately. The briefcase contains in any event the budgets of some ministries and the Budget Memorandum with an orange ribbon.

The briefcase
The current briefcase is made of ivory goat leather and the interior is covered by blue Thai silk. The letters 'THIRD TUESDAY IN SEPTEMBER' and the weapon of the Netherlands above the letters have been gilded by hand. In 1964, the State Press offered it to Minister Witteveen to commemorate the 150 anniversary of the State Press.

The first briefcase
The tradition of the briefcase originates from 1947 when Minister Lieftinck of Finance wished to present the first national budget after the Second World War to the House of Representatives in style. Minister Lieftinck had taken the presentation of the budget in the briefcase from the English where the briefcase tradition is much older. During the Second World War he stayed in London with the Dutch government and the Queen. He must have thought: this is a good idea for the Netherlands! He then sent one of his civil servants away to buy a briefcase.

The first briefcase
The first briefcase was bought, calculated in euros, for approximately € 1.70 at the leather shop 'Van de Broek' in Laan van Meerdervoort in The Hague. It was a simple brown briefcase on which letters were attached in gold paper. Later, gold pain was used for the letters 'Third Tuesday in September'. This briefcase is now in the Tax and Customs Museum in Rotterdam.

Ten years later in 1957 the tradition of the briefcase was almost lost when Minister Hofstra carried the national budget to the Binnenhof in his own briefcase. A group of students who objected to this demonstratively presented a new briefcase to the minister. No-one knows where this briefcase is. However, the following year, Minister Hofstra carried the old brown briefcase in his hand to present the national budget and the Budget Memorandum.

Are there more briefcases?
Jokingly, the Minister of Finance twice presented the national budget and the Budget Memorandum in a very small briefcase. In 1988, Minister Ruding retrieved a tiny briefcase from his inside pocket which contained the national budget and the Budget Memorandum for the year 1989 on microfiche. In 1999, Minister Zalm brought along a small briefcase which contained the national budget and the Budget Memorandum for 2000 on CD-ROM. Another briefcase is the briefcase of the third Wednesday in May.