This was calculated by the Dutch Homeowners Association. According to the Association, there are huge differences between cities. In Borssele (+20.6 percent), Terneuzen (+20.1 percent) and Diemen (+15.7 percent) to the municipal housing costs soared, while homeowners in Schouwen-Duiveland (+15.7 percent) are a lot cheaper off.

Association of Home Owners finds it horribly unjust that many homeowners need to pay more property tax, while the value of their home property has decreased.

Especially in Gemert-Bakel (+31.3 percent), Bunschoten (+25.8 percent), Schinnen (+23 percent), Maassluis (+21.3 percent), Dongeradeel (+20.4 percent), Nijkerk (+18 , 8 percent) and Soest (+16.3 percent), home owners need to pay considerably more tax. The Home Owners Association wants the federal government to prevent such property tax increases in the future.

The study also shows that on average 13 percent more expensive small municipalities with their local housing costs than large municipalities.

While expenses such as groceries, insurance, and energy costs have increased and home property value has decreased. This is the absolute wrong time to increase the tax burden on property owners.

Photo By Bert K

Rather than an annual road tax for their cars, drivers will soon pay a few cents for every kilometer (mile) on the road, in a plan aimed at breaking chronic traffic jams and cutting carbon emissions, the Cabinet decided Friday.

Beginning in 2012, drivers of an average passenger car will pay euro0.03 per 1 kilometer (7 US cents per mile). But annual road taxes and purchase tax for new cars will be abolished, reducing the cost of a new car by 25 percent.

The Netherlands has one of the most burdened road networks in Europe, with traffic jams likely at dozens of places virtually throughout the day. Hourly broadcasts report where the traffic is snarled, but often few alternatives exist to escape the highways.

The government says nearly six out of 10 drivers will benefit under the system, which shifts the tax burden to people who drive the most and at peak hours. Congestion is expected to be halved and carbon emissions cut 10 percent.

Friday’s decision said the tax will increase every year until 2018, and drivers of larger cars will pay more.

The road tax imposed by Minister Camiel Eurlings (CDA) is not to reduce traffic jams, but let the Dutch working class pay more and citizens in outlying areas will also be more affected. The plan to equip all cars with a “spy box” that transmits every kilometer, has led to a storm of criticism.

The ministry said, however, the information collected by GPS would be “legally and technically protected,” and the data would not be accessible to the government for other purposes. “The privacy of road users is protected,” it said.

The kilometer tax has been debated for 20 years, raising other concerns that it would intrude on privacy. The GPS monitoring system could be a test case for other countries weighing options for easing crowded roads.

photo by: arderwiek

In the first ever detailed ranking of 60 of the world’s financial hubs, published today by the international research agency Tax Justice Network (TJN), The Netherlands ranks 15th of the 60 financial “tax havens” in the world.

Delaware in the US is officially the world’s most secret financial location. Delaware was found wanting in 11 out of 12 secrecy indicators. London was also ranked in the top five most secretive jurisdictions.

The researchers looked in particular to banking secrecy, the transparency of financial legislation and the degree of financial activities abroad. The Dutch Antilles are ranked at the 38th place in the “Financial Secrecy Index”. The most important tax haven is the U.S. state of Delaware, followed by Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, the city of London, Ireland, Bermuda, Singapore, Belgium and Hong Kong.

In the fight against tax evasion Tax Justice Network calls for international regulation including the automatic exchange of financial information.

The figures emerge from a study by Utrecht University commissioned by the television documentary programme Zembla. The team behind the study was headed by tax law professor Geerten Michielse, who also works for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. He told RNW that the United States was right to describe the Netherlands as a tax haven in May this year – an assertion which the White House subsequently withdrew following Dutch finance ministry protests.

Multinationals such as Boeing, US Steel and Walt Disney all have Dutch letter-box companies to avoid paying tax in the United States. On paper, US companies make 13 percent of their profits in the Netherlands. The study found that while multinationals are officially liable to pay 25.5 percent in corporate tax, in reality loopholes in the tax law allow them to get away with paying no more than six or seven percent.

Tax officials have discussed the problem several times, but up to now have not intervened. The fear that Dutch multinationals with higher tax burden shift to other countries is unjustified. As long as profits are taxed, companies will come up with new constructions for profit tax evasion.

source: Radio Netherlands Worldwide

Photo by: Andrew