Monday, 22 April 2013 - 14:19
Tax Fraud by Ghost Citizens
It is very easy to commit tax fraud, a problem which the government and the tax authorities have known for years. A member of the political party CDA, Pieter Omtzigt, said this on Twitter.
Bulgarian criminals use ‘ghost citizens’, people without a permanent residence, to apply for healthcare or housing allowances. The gangs pay fellow citizens to travel to the Netherlands, register in a municipality and apply for allowances. They receive as high as 6 to 8 thousand euros per person. Then they return to Bulgaria.
According to RTL.nl, Omtzigt says it is very easy to commit fraud with the application because tax authorities only check them afterwards. The State Secretary of Finance will have a discussion with the House to amend the system.