No, for Jan with the cap, the Netherlands is not #belastingparadijs - Yes. But for foreign multinationals it is. Only the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda and the Caymans are more attractive for companies that want to pay as little as possible to the tax authorities. The result of the favourable Dutch tax climate is that foreign governments lose billions in revenue. Revenues that they could now have used, for example, to combat the Covid-19 crisis.

Within the European Union, France and Italy lose the most money every year because companies evading taxes via the Netherlands, the Tax Justice Network has calculated. The Tax Justice Network's analysis focuses on American multinationals that are active throughout Europe but are officially based in the Netherlands.

France, where more than 10,000 people have died as a result of the epidemic, has lost more than €2.7 billion in corporate tax annually, while Italy (more than 17,000 deaths) goes to the ship for 1.5 billion euros. Spain, which is also severely affected (some 15,000 deaths), lacks nearly a billion euros in tax revenue each year, while Germany, which is currently receiving Dutch patients, sees €1.5 billion slipping through its fingers.

Overall, all EU Member States lose more than 10 billion euros in revenue from American multinationals due to tax haven in the Netherlands. “For years, the Netherlands has been ensuring that the largest companies have to pay less,” says Alex Cobham of the Tax Justice Network. “This leaves less for nurses who are now putting their lives at risk across Europe to save our lives.”

Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra again this week insisted that southern European countries wishing to claim money from the European emergency fund must first promise that they will reform their economies. Although Hoekstra can count on the support of Arjen Lubach, he is completely alone in Europe.

Even his German colleague Olaf Scholz calls Hoekstra's demand “inappropriate.”

Italy and Spain are missing billions due to tax haven in the Netherlands