The dividend tax trick will cost the Netherlands 27 billion

Dividend tax fraud has cost tax officials more money than previously thought. The Dutch treasury is said to have lost about 27 billion euros from 2000 to last year. This has been reported by various European media outlets, including Follow the Money and the BBC, based on a joint research project called The Comex Files.

The United States, Germany and at least ten European countries have a total of about 150 billion euros in so-called cum / ex frat cost tax authorities. This is three times more than already predicted. The Netherlands would have been relatively severely affected.

The trick is to buy and sell large parcels of shares very quickly on the dividend payment date. Dividend tax was withdrawn several times, while dividend tax was paid only once. The German High Court ruled in late July that the tactic was illegal. Banks allegedly involved in the scam include big names such as Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, UPS, BNP Paribas, JPMorgan Chase and Santander.

German officials also conducted several raids on ABN AMRO’s Frankfurt office in connection with the case. An investigation into the matter is still ongoing. In the Netherlands, there is also a public prosecution service behind the bank. The judge appointed the bank as a suspect in the investigation into the recovery of dividend tax by a third party.