subject: Netherlands Pursues Card Holders While Singapore Reviews Property Taxes [print this page] Netherlands Pursues Card Holders While Singapore Reviews Property Taxes
The Dutch tax department has reportedly been instructed to begin tracing payments made using anonymous 'black' credit cards, linked to bank accounts in tax havens and is allegedly in discussion with organisations processing such credit card payments in the Netherlands in a bid to track down the individuals concerned.
The Dutch tax department and the Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service and Economic Investigation Service (FIOD) say they believe that these credit and pin debit cards are regularly used to buy expensive goods, and that they are used regularly in attempts to commit investment and value-added tax carousel fraud. This may or may not be true.
The finance ministry states that: "The tax department now has the possibility to filter payments by Dutch citizens by for instance analyzing the frequency and location of the payments. On the basis of the account number the tax department can subsequently request information about the owner of the account". To this end Holland has concluded dozens of information exchange treaties in the past 12 months with alleged tax havens.
The Dutch Finance Ministry claims that in the region of EUR30bn of undeclared funds is located in foreign accounts.
Meanwhile Singapore's Finance Ministry is reportedly conducting a public consultation on amendments to the country's property tax system.
The draft Property Tax (Amendment) Bill 2010 (which aims to improve tax administration or provide clarity for taxpayers) provides for legislation on a total of twelve changes which have arisen from a periodic review of the property tax system, include the streamlining of reporting requirements for property owners. The requirement for owners to inform the Singaporean Revenue Authority of certain events (such as when a building is completed, rebuilt, enlarged, altered or improved) will apparently be abolished.
Additionally, the time frame during which the Authority can recover outstanding property tax, (and refund excess property tax paid by taxpayers), will be limited to five years (the same time bar which applies to income tax and goods and services tax). It is also proposed that interest payable on the refund of excess property tax pursuant to a court order be calculated from the date of the order (to bring it into line with like orders in income tax cases).
The changes would also allow the Authority to cancel erroneous property tax notices from previous years and replace them with amended notices, for instance where errors have arisen from clerical/arithmetical mistakes or from incorrect information provided by taxpayers.
It is also proposed that the Authority be able to recover property tax on demolition sites from the date of completion of demolition works and be allowed to recover property tax due on redevelopment sites retrospectively, subject to a time limit of five years. The consultation exercise will run until June 25, 2010.
Interesting to see the different ways that the two jurisdictions deal with their tax shortfalls. The progressive jurisdiction (ie Singapore) pursues tax reform designed to stimulate investment while the old war horse goes hunting down holes for rabbits that may or not be there.
Is it any wonder Europe is in such a state of decline
