White House acts and retracts on Netherlands as a tax haven

06 May 2009

US President Barack Obama's administration seemed to have hit the wrong button when it put one its strongest allies in the fight against tax havens, the Netherlands, on the list of countries as a corporate tax haven.

With Obama's quest in cracking down on tax havens, the White House e-mailed a fact sheet titled 'Leveling the Playing Field: Curbing Tax Havens and Removing Tax Incentives For Shifting Jobs Overseas', which accused the Netherlands along with Ireland and Bermuda as a 'low-tax country'.

The idyllic country, known more for its windmills and beer was shocked to see its name on the US list as a scoundrel among nations providing safe haven to tax dodgers even as it is one of the strongest lobbyists along with the US against bank secrecy in countries like Switzerland, Belgium and Lichtenstein and others.

Dutch finance minister Wouter Bos and the country's ambassador to the US, Renee Jones-Bos reacted angrily and said the accusation was completely unjust, with Wouter Bos saying that his country would not change its tax system.

The Dutch ambassador then conveyed her country's message to the White House, the Treasury Department and the Department of State and put out a press release, The Netherlands: attractive location for foreign investors, but not a low-tax country, stating as to why the White House erred in putting the Netherlands on the list of tax haven country.

Although the diplomatic goof up was quickly rectified by the White House by removing the Netherlands from the list, the damage had already been done as the White House had released the fact sheet to reporters, which was then duly reported globally.