Big Tobacco using Netherlands to dodge taxes: report

The four largest tobacco companies in the world funnel billions of euros through the Netherlands every year in order to avoid paying taxes in other countries, according to an investigation of the tobacco companies' financial transactions in the period 2010-2019 by The Investigative Desk, NRC reports.

According to the researchers, British American Tobacco, Philip Morris, Japan Tobacco, and Imperial Brands use shell companies in the Netherlands to funnel at least 7.5 billion euros per year in dividends, royalties and interest payments.

The tobacco companies would not respond to questions about this matter, NRC reported, only saying that they comply with the laws and regulations in each country.

A study by SEO Economic Research in 2018 showed that shell companies - also sometimes referred to as letterbox companies, because their only physical presence in a tax friendly country is their mailing address - funnel around 199 billion euros through the Netherlands every year in the form of dividends, interest and royalties.