In 2006 I co-authored a report with two Dutch colleagues. The message of the report was pretty clear from the cover: The report was a big hit, in the Netherlands. It was discussed in the Dutch parliament, was a shock to many as it was just about the first time such a thing was said by
Read the Rest…

I’ve just had it drawn to my attention that reports suggest that Mongolia has cancelled its double tax treaty with the Netherlands. The Google translation of the original Dutch report says: Mongolia at the end of last year the tax treaty with the Netherlands canceled because it claims to be the victim of multinationals that the Dutch tax laws
Read the Rest…

It’s worth recalling in the light of my last post what the White House had to say about offshoring of profits in 2009. In that year they said: Nearly one-third of all foreign profits reported by U.S. corporations in 2003 came from just three small, low-tax countries: Bermuda, the Netherlands, and Ireland. That then was
Read the Rest…

SOMO in the Netherlands has issued the following note in response to the Dutch furore at being described as a tax haven by the USA: The White House press briefing announcing measures against tax avoidance and tax havens, published on 4 May 2009, originally contained the following sentence: ‘Nearly one-third of all foreign profits reported
Read the Rest…

The US publication The Hill has reported: The White House on Monday angered the Dutch Embassy by lumping the Netherlands in with a group of "low-tax countries" some corporations use to avoid paying U.S. taxes. Ambassador Renee Jones-Bos reached out to both the White House and the Treasury Department to express her displeasure with a
Read the Rest…

Reuters has reported that: Brit Insurance [has] said it [it] planning to move its tax base to the Netherlands and that it would put detailed proposals to shareholders in the coming months. Here we go again is the obvious reaction. The Treasury is taking steps (quite illogical steps in my opinion) to change the UK
Read the Rest…

KPMG has published its latest survey on the UK’s tax competitiveness. It’s message is clear: it says the UK is slipping behind. But look who it compares us to: Let’s be blunt: Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands are all small states who are tax havens. It’s an impossible business model for the UK to emulate.
Read the Rest…

I haven’t written about Bono for a while, although what I have written about him remains among the regularly read pages on this blog. It’s time I did so again. There’s good reason. I know the messages of tax justice have reached the man. I know how they got there. And in the last couple
Read the Rest…

The US is targeting the biggest tax havens in the world. The FT reports that: A pledge by Democrats in Congress to crack down on tax avoidance and to pay for spending measures as they are approved has put the practices of a range of international companies under the spotlight. “These multinationals avoid US taxation
Read the Rest…