AMSTERDAM: Dutch lawmakers have called on the government to develop tougher legislation to combat tax avoidance with greater transparency and oversight of tax rulings granted and exchanged among tax authorities.
Five separate motions including a call to clamp down on tax avoidance by letterbox companies—submitted by a handful of Finance Committee members, were approved Jan. 24 by a majority of the Dutch House of Representatives.
The politicians also urged the government to develop proposals to combat tax base erosion and profit shifting, as well as to enhance transparency on tax rulings.
One motion called on Deputy Finance Minister Eric Wiebes to combat tax avoidance by letterbox companies by ensuring corporate taxpayers have real economic activities in the Netherlands through the introduction of substance criteria.
The five lawmakers who submitted the motion called on Wiebes to especially focus on draft legislation that would introduce a minimum salary threshold that companies must meet in order to qualify as residents for corporate income tax purposes.
The Dutch government has also been asked to include proposals that would expand the corporate tax base in the 2018 budget, set to be presented in September.
