Tax office sets up help line for illegal savings

The tax office has set up a special information phone line for people with illegal savings in foreign bank accounts, Nos tv reports on Tuesday.


Junior finance minister Jan Kees de Jager thinks the phone line, which will provide advice to people wanting to remain anonymous, will make it easier for people who have hidden their money abroad to move it back to the Netherlands.
The move is the latest in government efforts to reduce the amount of money Dutch nationals have stashed in tax havens and secret accounts.
In April, De Jager announced that the fine for people found to have secret bank accounts abroad is to be tripled to 300% of the non-declared savings.
At the moment, people found with secret savings face having all of the money confiscated by the tax authorities.
Since 2002, the government has operated an amnesty for people with secret accounts. If they admit to having money stashed abroad they have to pay an extra tax surcharge but no fine and will not face criminal prosecution. So far this year, €500m in illegal savings have been made legitimate.

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