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Danielle Batist is an experienced freelance journalist, founder of Journopreneur and co-founder of the Constructive Journalism Project. She lived and worked all around the globe and covered global and local stories of poverty, exclusion and injustice. Increasingly, she moved beyond ‘problem-reporting’ to include stories about the solutions she found. She witnessed the birth of the new nation of South Sudan and interviewed the Dalai Lama. She reported for Al Jazeera, BBC and the Guardian and regularly advises independent media organisations on innovation and sustainability. She loves bringing stories to the world and finding the appropriate platforms to do so. The transformation of traditional media fascinates rather than scares her. While both the medium and the message are changing, she believes the need for good storytelling remains.
The Netherlands: Known For Windmills, Liberal Drugs Policies And … Being America’s Tax Haven
The closest many people have come to hearing of a Dutch tax haven is when celebrities hit the news. Earlier this year, the Dutch business representative of U2 and the Rolling Stones was summoned to appear before a parliamentary committee on the Netherlands’ role as a tax haven, an inquiry set up following the Panama Papers leaks.
But this investigation by De Correspondent goes much deeper and unveils the true scale of international — mainly American — companies avoiding tax by registering their businesses in the Netherlands.
It shows how nearly half a trillion dollars in US company profits (including Nike, General Electric, Heinz and Time Warner) are safely stored in paper businesses, hidden behind Amsterdam post boxes. If you struggle to picture how much half a trillion is: it is nearly twice the country’s entire budget. And the vast majority of it remains untaxed, due to clever tax avoidance schemes.
Aided by Freedom of Information requests, the investigation shows how loopholes in tax laws were created in a joint venture between the American and Dutch governments. It also shows the role of company lobbyists in negotiations overseas, mostly played out in the shadows. Although a national debate about tax avoidance is now underway in the Netherlands, there are no guarantees that new loopholes won’t be created. The lobbyists are already on the case.
