Information

Belastingnieuws


Informationbank

Here you find more information about:

Interest percentage

The interest on taxes is set on 4% for individuals and 8% for comapanies.
 

The interest is due starting from the 1st of July of the next year (so six months after the usual tax year has been closed). 
 

Anti Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act [WWFT]

This page provides a brief description of the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act (WWFT). The Act contains provisions regarding customer screening, identification and verification of customers, and the reporting of unusual transactions. The following subjects will be addressed:


Objective of the Wwft
The objective of the Wwft is to maintain the integrity of the financial system. Public confidence in this system is severely damaged if parts of the system are used to launder the proceeds of crime and to finance terrorism. As a result of the Wwft, not only the information position of the investigative services and the judiciary is strengthened, but also of the reporting entities.


Risk-oriented approach
The Wwft has a risk-oriented approach. This means that the entities themselves have to assess the risks certain customers or products entail. The Act offers the entities the possibility to adjust their efforts to these risks. This approach has been incorporated in the entity’s own compliance regulations and fits within their responsibilities and the duty of due care to which they are subject. The internal regulations are custom-made and become more stringent as the estimated risk increases. In addition, the Wwft does not prescribe as mandatory how an entity must achieve a result; it only describes the required result.


Entities with an obligation to report

  • The WWft defines under the term ‘entity’ to whom the Act applies.
  • The term entity includes both natural and legal persons.

The WWFT applies to the following institutions:

  • Accountants
  • Lawyers
  • Banks
  • Tax advisors
  • Investment institutions
  • Investment firms
  • Life insurance brokers
  • Payment service agents
  • Payment service implementers acting for a payment service provider with a licence from another EU member state
  • Payment service providers
  • Natural or Legal persons that put their address at another’s disposal
  • Electronic money institutions
  • Traders / sellers of goods
  • Institutions for Collective Investment in Securities (ICBE)
  • Institutions, not being banks, that carry out banking activities
  • Civil-law notaries
  • Pawn shops
  • Casinos
  • Valuers
  • Trust offices
  • Safe custody services
  • Money-exchange institutions

Entity with an obligation to report must report unusual transactions to FIU-the Netherlands on the basis of objective and/or subjective indicators. Failing to report unusual transactions may have consequences. More information (relevant cases) for your reporting group can be found on the reporting groups page.


Customer screening
A customer’s identity must be verified and recorded before the transaction takes place. Identification of customers is not only relevant at first contact, but also applies to long-lasting relations and specific incidental transactions. The entity requests each customer to personally present a valid ID document. Once the identity of a customer has been established, and he or she returns regularly, the entity does not have to ask for ID on every visit.

When the reporting entity has doubts about the authenticity of an ID document, it is prohibited from providing the service. This also applies if a customer cannot or will not provide proof of identity. The Wwft does not prescribe the manner in which the data must be recorded.

Horizontal Monitoring

 

The Dutch Tax Authorities (De Belastingdienst) have introduced a new way of supervision for tax returns, named “Horizontal Monitoring” (Horizontaal Toezicht). This form of supervision will only be used for businesses, their owners and fiscal partners which explicitly have agreed upon this way of supervision.

WHAT IS HORIZONTAL MONITORING?
Based on pre-made agreements, the Tax Authorities assume the tax return is correct and complete and will approve the return without further delay. The assessment will follow within two weeks. This way of working is built on trust and responsibility: It is both your and our responsibility to make sure that the declaration is correct.

COMPOSING THE DECLARATION
Horizontal Monitoring is built on trust in the relationship between your company, us and the Tax Authorities. You are responsible for a complete disclosure of the facts and figures, and we are held to compile and file a correct and complete tax return. Therefore, open communication is essential. When, while compiling the return, questions arise about ingredients of the return, this should be discussed with the Tax Authorities before filing  the return. This way these matters can be solved up front and not afterwards. The Tax Authorities will only check just a few randomly chosen returns of the people who participate.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF HORIZONTAL MONITORING?
The goal is efficiency. We expect that this form of supervision will be more and more common, because of the fact that the efficiency is much higher than in current practice. You can compare this with the self-scan cash registers at the supermarket. A few years ago this was considered unusual and now this is very common in most supermarkets. It is possible that on the long term the companies that do not participate in Horizontal Monitoring will be checked more often than in the current situation. The time that will be spared with Horizontal Monitoring can then be used to check the companies that do not participate in this program more often.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HORIZONTAL MONITORING AND THE CURRENT WAY OF WORKING?
Coordination in advance instead of checking afterwards. Possible tax issues will be reported to de Tax Authorities and they will be discussed upfront instead of having discussions afterwards. Collaboration is the key here. The declaration is the final piece instead of the starting point of a discussion.

ADVANTAGES FOR THE PARTICIPANT

  • Clarity. de Belastingdienst will finish your declaration quickly. This means you will have clarity about your tax status more quickly. Also, you will have one specific contact at the Tax Authorities. This means that the lines are shorter.
  • Almost no more checking. The moments where the Tax Authorities checks everything belong to the past. Only a few randomly chosen companies will be checked.
  • Agree to disagree. Horizontal Monitoring does not mean that you always have to agree with the Tax Authorities. There is room for different opinions. You are still free to submit issues to the court. Furthermore, you can still choose the most favorable route when it comes to financial matters that have multiple options. Our role of Tax Advisor does not undergo any changes. Your interest is still the main priority.
  • Solving unsolved matters. Currently unsolved issues will have to be solved. The Tax Authorities has announced that she will collaborate actively and with a positive approach.

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE IN HORIZONTAL MONITORING?
Horizontal Monitoring is available for companies, there owners and his or her fiscal partner.

WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF HORIZONTAL MONITORING?
Horizontal Monitoring applicable to all fiscal areas (VAT Return, Wage Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Personal Income Tax). You do not have to apply for all areas right away. It is possible to start with Horizontal Monitoring for only your Personal Income Tax and optionally later also your VAT-Return for example.

HOWCAN YOU PARTICIPATE?
You can participate through our office. If you let us know that you want to participate, we will send you a participation form. After signing and returning the form, we will sign you up. After approval by the Tax Authorities, you are a participant of Horizontal Monitoring.

IS IT EASY TO GET OUT OF THE PARTICIPATION IN HORIZONTAL MONITORING?
You can terminate the agreement at any moment without mentioning why you made this decision.

WHEN DOES THIS NEW APPROACH NAMED HORIZONTAL MONITORING START?
It starts when the Tax Authorities have accepted your request for participation. Only the declarations that have been declared from that moment on will be approached with Horizontal Monitoring. The declarations that have been submitted before your participation was approved will be approached in the regular way.