M@C: Dutch provide tax haven for multi-nationals and super-rich - by Rohan Minogue

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Dutch provide tax haven for multi-nationals and super-rich - by Rohan Minogue

Amsterdam - The Netherlands has allowed itself to become a tax haven for thousands of foreign companies, whose real presence is often little more than an Amsterdam postbox number. While the results are clearly beneficial to the treasury, the potential damage to the country's international standing is great. During the course of 2006, the number of foreign companies establishing a financial presence on Dutch soil rose by 50 per cent over the previous year - or by about 1,600 new companies.

A recent study by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (known by its Dutch abbreviation SOMO) found that more than 20,000 multinationals and rich individuals were registered in the Netherlands for tax purposes. It added that the potential for money-laundering was large.,Apart from the Dutch Treasury, which benefits to the tune of 1.2 billion euros (1.5 billion dollars) a year, 132 trust companies and their employees earn considerable sums through the provision of financial services.