Junior finance minister Frans Weekers is to take steps to ensure motorists living in the Netherlands and who own cars with foreign number plates do not escape Dutch vehicle taxes.

The minister told parliament in a briefing he plans to use more random checks and number recognition technology to make sure motorists are not avoiding BPM, the tax payable by all car and motorbike owners.

‘Not only is the treasury missing out on tax income, but people who pay their taxes end up footing the bill,’ Weekers said.

The minister is also to step up the information flow to labour migrants to make it clear they have to register their cars properly and will face tough sanctions if they don’t.