Tax season is upon us, marked by the arrival of blue envelopes containing an invitation to file a tax return. When you log in to the website of the Dutch tax authority, belastingdienst.nl, you'll find that many details have already been pre-filled, such as your income and bank account information. In the Netherlands, you're required to pay taxes not only on your employment income, but also on any potential earnings from your assets.Unlike some countries, the Netherlands does not have a wealth tax per se. The actual interest and investment income you receive is not directly taxed. However, as part of the income tax system, a hypothetical or "fictitious" income is calculated based on the value of your portfolio, including bank accounts, shares, or even a second home. This imputed income is then taxed under the "box 3" system.

Our expert guest, Steve Ten Bokum from Expat-service.nl, is here to explain this concept in more detail. Our podcast host, Jean-Paul Linnartz, is not afraid to dig deeper and find out how this system works in practice. Can you simply tick the boxes on your tax return, or do you need to account for assets beyond what the tax authority has already compiled for you?

Steve Ten Bokum of Expat-Service.nl in Eindhoven shares with us what the typical first reaction is of internationals and expats who file their tax report for the first time in the Netherlands. A new country, new rules, but also special situations for internationals. And there are a few things to check already before you sign an employement contract. For instance, whether participation in the 30% ruling is explicitly described. This is the first edition in a series of podcasts, hosted by Jean-Paul Linnartz

Radio 4 Brainport expands its DAB+ broadcasting coverage. The international radio signal in the Brainport region will now also reach large parts of the Kempen area. A powerful new transmitter will feed four antennas located in the radio tower at de Croy, along the A2 and N2 highways in western Eindhoven. This tower will provide a strong radio signal throughout Eindhoven and its surrounding communities. With its height of 90 meters, it has a direct line of sight with almost all of the Kempen.

Radio presenter Jean-Paul Linnartz visited the installation team from Radio Network Nederland and spoke with project manager Peter Oonk. The DAB transmitter is capable of carrying up to 18 radio stations simultaneously, including Studio040, GlowFM, and Rivierenland Radio.

De radio wordt digitaal en dat geldt nu ook voor de lokale radio. Vier lokale stations breiden hun DAB+ uitzendbereik flink uit. Vanaf deze week bereikt een digitaal radiosignaal van Rivierenland Radio, Studio040, GlowFM en Radio 4 Brainport ook grote delen van de zuidoost Brabant. Een krachtige nieuwe zender zal vier antennes voeden die zich in de zendmast op de Croy bevinden, langs de snelwegen A2 en N2 in West-Eindhoven. Deze 90 meter hoge toren zal zorgen voor een sterk radiosignaal in heel Eindhoven en de omliggende gemeenten, vanaf een plek waar ook de hele Kempen is te overzien.

In this episode of the Radio 4 Brainport podcast, hosted by Iman Mossavat, Ger Janssen, Philips' Ethics and Compliance Lead, explores AI’s impact on industries, particularly healthcare. Janssen emphasizes the importance of responsible AI practices, highlighting trustworthiness, fairness, and transparency in AI applications. He discusses how AI can enhance patient care while addressing biases and ethical challenges. With AI's rapid rise, it’s crucial to adapt education and regulations to support effective human-AI collaboration. As Janssen underscores, AI isn’t going away—businesses must learn to leverage it responsibly. This episode offers essential insights into AI’s evolving influence on industries and society.

On the latest episode of Podcasts 4 Brainport, hosted by Iman Mossavat on Radio 4 Brainport, Dr. Federico Corradi, Assistant Professor at TU Eindhoven, offers a brief introduction to neuromorphic computing. Specializing in energy-efficient AI inspired by the brain, Dr. Corradi leads the Neuromorphic Edge Computing Systems Lab, exploring how nature's principles can reshape AI to consume less energy.

In this episode, Dr. Corradi explains how the brain’s minimal energy use inspires new AI systems, addressing the massive energy demands of large language models. In his line of research, the boundary between hardware and software is increasingly blurred. Designing algorithms and hardware together could transform AI into more sustainable and independent systems, enabling smarter edge devices without cloud reliance.

Xiangyu Wang talks about the traditions in Chinese Culture. Festivities around the Chinese New Year.

The Chinese New Year celebrates the start of the year according to the lunar calendar. It is also called the spring festival and lasts as long as 15 days with many family gatherings. A holiday time full of festivities with colorful decorations and couplets full of wishes. It is not only celebrated in China itself but also by the Chinese communities across the world.

Jean-Paul Linnartz chats with Xiaochen Liu about the celebrations in the Netherlands and in Eindhoven in particular.

#CNY

A series of podcasts on #expat life in the #Eindhoven region is also scheduled on #Radio 4 Brainport, 747 AM and DAB+. It is also available radiopostcasts.icu. It is part of the CONNECTCAST initiative #supportedbyASML.

On the Radio 4 Brainport podcast Podcasts 4 Brainport, host Iman Mossavat engages Robert Engels, Head of AI Futures Lab at Capgemini, in a discussion on the role of context and abstraction in AI. With 36 years of experience, Engels examines why current generative AI systems, like GPT-4, excel at tasks yet fail in complex, real-world settings.

Robert argues, “Two things are underperforming in the world of generative AI—abstraction and logical reasoning.” Robert underscores the need for AI to adopt a world model akin to philosophical reasoning: "Plato and Socrates understood this when they built logics—they looked at the world and tried to grasp its principles."

Our host Iman Mossavat invites Dr. Artin Entezarjou, a board-certified specialist in general medicine, to debate the role AI in medicine. He discusses AI’s advancements in healthcare and its challenges in complex clinical scenarios. “Humans can outperform AI when questions aren’t multiple choice, especially when psychosocial factors are involved,” Dr. Entezarjou says. His research comparing GPT-4 with human doctors shows that AI struggles with the complexity and context of real-world medicine. “When we want to make decisions in clinical practice, we need to consider more than just symptoms.

We need to understand the patient's preferences and context,” he adds. Dr. Entezarjou emphasizes the importance of human judgment in healthcare, stating, “We’re still the masters of knowing when we need more context. But this is rapidly changing.” He calls for AI systems that are robust, trustworthy, and intuitive, to support physicians rather than replace them. “AI can be superhuman in specific areas, but in general, we still need human judgment,” Dr. Entezarjou concludes.

Dr. Entezarjou holds a Ph.D. from Lund University and is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Gothenburg. He works at Tandem Health, a startup using large language models to automate administrative tasks for clinicians. Dr. Entezarjou has worked on eVisits in Swedish primary care, focusing on telemedicine, automated patient histories, and machine learning.