Consumer price index (CPI)
Explanatory remarks:
The package of goods and services includes food, durable goods such as household appliances and cars, energy and housing costs (rent) and a number of government services. Also included in the CPI are consumption-related taxes such as motor vehicle tax and municipal taxes such as sewerage charges. The compulsory standard insurance for health care costs is not part of the CPI, but supplementary insurance is.
Together with the rebasing to 2006=100 the following changes have been made to the CPI :
1. Rebasing will take place annually. In 2007 both the reference and base year are 2006. As of 2008 the base year will be updated annually, but the reference year will remain 2006.
2. On 1 January 2006, the Netherlands introduced a new insurance system for health care costs, of which one component is compulsory standard insurance for all citizens. Supplementary insurance can be taken out for care that is not included in the standard package. The compulsory standard insurance is not part of the CPI, but supplementary insurance is.
3. The CPI will be published rounded to two decimals. The sole reason for this is to minimise rounding errors when calculating rates of inflation.