VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE AND THE HUNT FOR UNDISCLOSED ACCOUNTS BY US AND DUTCH TAX AUTHORITIES

Propaganda machines up to speed

Publicity efforts by the US and Dutch tax authorities indicate that the hunt for undisclosed accounts in typical offshore jurisdictions is still a hot item. Although Curacao was not mentioned by the US authorities, the Dutch tax authorities announced a new search for undisclosed accounts in Curacao based on information provided by the French tax authorities. The IRS announced a new voluntary disclosure program which mitigates the risk of criminal prosecution in exchange for paying taxes, interest and a standardized penalty. Furthermore, the IRS announced that they will follow ‘new leads’ emanating from voluntary disclosures. …
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02
Feb 2011
CATEGORY

Tax

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REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION BY FOREIGN TAX AUTHORITIES

A request for information needs to contain specific information

The former Netherlands Antilles concluded several tax information exchange agreements (‘TIEA’) during recent years. These TIEAs also apply to the newly formed country Curacao. The Tax Arrangement for the Kingdom (‘TAK‘) is applicable within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which includes Curacao. Article 37 of the TAK also contains the facilities for the exchange of information within the Kingdom.

Without a TIEA in place or a specific article in a double tax treaty facilitating the exchange of information between the treaty parties, the Curacao tax authorities would be prohibited from effectively exchanging …
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21
Dec 2010
CATEGORY

Tax

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KEEPING, MAINTAINING AND RETAINING RECORDS FOR TAX PURPOSES IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

Records must be kept for 10 years

Pursuant to article 43 of the Netherlands Antilles State Ordinance on National Taxes (Algemene Landsverordening Landsbelastingen, “GONT”) an entity is obliged to keep the records (‘administratie’) of its assets and liabilities that clearly show the rights and obligations at all times and that provide the data relevant to the levying of taxes. These records and the associated data carriers must be kept for a period of 10 years. The GONT does not define what “records” are. The word records is therefore a grey area. 

It is important to know that these obligations are …
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16
Sep 2008
CATEGORY

Legal

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PROVIDING INFORMATION TO THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN TAX INSPECTOR

Digital information is not sufficient

In general every company is obliged to supply the Tax Inspector with data and information that is or can be significant for levying taxes from that company. Regarding the aforementioned all data carriers or their content have to be made available at the request (and discretion) of the Tax Inspector.

Digital versions of the data and information do not represent sufficient compliance with this obligation. If there are only digital documents available (like e-mails), then the taxpayer must ensure that the Tax Inspector is able to read such data during the legal period that the …
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13
Sep 2008
CATEGORY

Legal

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