Dutch tax office opens hunt for tax-dodging American Express users

DutchNews, April 4, 2017    

Photo: DutchNews.nl

Credit card company American Express has been told to hand over information to the US tax office tax authorities about Dutch residents with bank cards linked to accounts outside the Netherlands, Bloomberg said on Tuesday. 

The US tax service has asked for the information to help the Dutch government determine if residents are complying with local tax laws, Bloomberg quoted a justice department statement as saying. 

The Dutch made the request under a treaty which allows the exchange of tax information between the two countries.

‘The department of justice and the IRS are committed to working with the United States’ international treaty partners to identify individuals using secret offshore accounts to evade tax laws,’ said acting assistant attorney general David Hubbert in a statement. 

The case focuses on tracing the identities of Dutch taxpayers who had American Express cards between 2009 and 2016 that were linked to bank accounts outside the US. 

Efforts to trace potential tax cheats through other payment agencies have succeeded but American Express has so far refused to cooperate, the Volkskrant said in its report. 

Dutch investigators arrested two people last week as part of a five-country probe linked to Credit Suisse accounts.

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