Deputy Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager wants to increase the fines for people who deposit undeclared money in foreign banks. The fine is currently 100 percent of the undeclared amount. Mr De Jager wants to raise it to 300 percent.

In 2002, a new 'repentance' ruling permitted people who wanted to declare such income to the treasury to do so without paying a fine. So far this year, approximately 300 individuals have made use of the regulation. However, the Netherlands is still exerting pressure on countries such as Switzerland and Luxembourg to report deposits of undeclared income in their banks. Once definitive agreements on the issue have been agreed with the banks, the 'repentance' ruling will be stopped.

Published: Sunday 05 April 2009 14:49 UTC

Source: Radio Netherlands