Related News
Firms will have to go Dutch with tax
Print Edition
The Netherlands said it will tighten rules on tax breaks for foreign companies after facing criticism from the EU.
Dutch authorities said they were cracking down on 鈥渓etter box鈥 firms which have a Dutch address that allows them to benefit from lucrative local deals.
鈥淲e are making considerable changes to the law in order to prevent the Netherlands from being used as a conduit to tax havens,鈥 Deputy Finance Minister Menno Snel said.
鈥淭hese changes also mean that letter box companies established in the Netherlands purely for fiscal reasons, but which do not contribute anything to the Dutch economy, will in future not get any dispensation from the tax authorities.鈥
The announcement follows a Dutch probe opened in November last year in the wake of revelations by the so-called 鈥淧aradise Papers鈥 scandal.
Leaked documents claimed that several multinationals saved millions in taxes through secret tax deals and loopholes in the Dutch system. But there has also been mounting pressure from the EU.
In January a top European Union official described several European countries including the Netherlands as being 鈥渂lack holes鈥 for tax and promised to pressure them to change their ways.
EU economics affairs commissioner Pierre Moscovici lumped the Dutch in with Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta and Cyprus as countries that often serve as EU headquarters for multinationals such as Google, Apple or Facebook, offering complex tax schemes to help them shift profits and avoid bills.
The European Commission is investigating Swedish furniture giant Ikea鈥檚 tax deals in the Netherlands, while in a similar Dutch case it ordered coffee chain Starbucks to repay US$34 million in back taxes.
The Dutch finance ministry added: 鈥淔rom now on, there will be a much sharper eye on the application for the tax ruling. If the motive is purely to avoid Dutch or foreign tax, no ruling will be given.鈥
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
