Global Daily Tax News, Netherlands Ramping Up Efforts To Counter Dividends Stripping, (Feb 29, 2024)

The Dutch tax agency has said it intends to intensify efforts to tackle dividends stripping.

Dividend stripping is a type of fraud that is committed through a complex mechanism of trading, selling, and repurchasing shares over a certain period to unlawfully avoid payment of dividend taxes, or to claim unjustified tax reimbursements.

Some of these schemes, which can result in substantial revenue losses, have been categorized as criminal behaviour by domestic courts, while others may fall within the realm of tax avoidance or aggressive tax planning.

The task of detecting and challenging these schemes will accorded to a body within the tax agency, the Tax Ports and Group Financing Coordination Group (CTC). This adds to its existing mandate, which includes oversight of the innovation box scheme and intra-group financing arrangements, and providing advice on initiatives to tackle corporate tax base erosion.