Super tax team to tackle illegal savings

Monday 30 November 2009

The finance ministry is to set up a 200-strong team to focus on tracking down savings held in secret bank accounts abroad, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Monday.

The new team will focus on processing information won by the 15 people already charged with tracing secret accounts at the finance ministry's investigation unit Fiod, the paper says.

The government has reached deals on combating tax avoidance with almost 30 tax havens over the past few years, including Switzerland and Guernsey.

'We've got a lot of secret information waiting to be gone though at the Fiod and tax office,' tax minister Jan-Kees de Jager told the paper.

De Jager told the paper he estimates €15bn is being held in secret savings accounts abroad, including money held in trusts.

For the past few years, the Netherlands has offered an amnesty to people who declare their illegal savings. This year, 3,800 people volunteered to pay tax on some €860m in secret savings. Those who don't and are caught face massive fines.

© DutchNews.nl

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