Rock bands The Rolling Stones and U2 don't have offices in the Netherlands for tax-evasion purposes, but because of the "specific experience and expertise" the country has to offer, their management said to an investigative committee on Monday, NU.nl reports.

The tax authorities investigative department FIOD arrested two persons in charge of a well known sushi chain in Rotterdam on Tuesday on suspicion of large-scale fraud, AD reports.

A criminal investigation was launched into the duo after a tax audit at one of the sushi restaurants revealed that data was deleted from the point-of-sale system. The tax authorities believe that this was done to skim revenue.

Skimming revenue in order to evade taxes is considered fraud. According to FIOD it distorts competition and harms tax payers.

State Secretaries of Finance Joop Wijn (2004), Frans Weekers (2011) and Eric Wiebes (2015) all agreed to make controversial tax deals with multinational corporations, and not tell other European countries about it, Trouw reports based on internal documents from the Ministry of Finance that were released last weeks. The documents show that Finanace officials internally warned for years of the possible consequences of such agreements.

The Dutch tax authorities' investigative service FIOD received details of 3,800 Dutch with hidden assets and savings in Swiss bank accounts from an anonymous source, AD reports. Based on this information, FIOD launched an international hunt for Dutch tax evaders on Thursday.

According to the Tax Authorities, the details about hidden assets in Swiss bank accounts can be compared to the Panama Papers that leaked last year. All 3,800 Dutch-linked accounts are with one Swiss bank, which the Dutch authorities would not name.

PvdA Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem thinks corporate income tax should increase in the next government's term, he said in an interview with newspaper AD. According to him, this is needed to "restore the balance between ordinary Dutch and international companies, and between workers and the wealthy". This is remarkable because he previously, as Minister of Finance, said that the profit tax can gradually be lowered. 

The Netherlands is still making secret tax deals with multinational companies, according to an European report on which Dutch research foundation SOMO worked. The Netherlands remains one of the ost important countries in Europe when it comes to tax evasion, the report states according to ANP.

Last year the Netherlands made 236 secret tax deals. That means that the country is 3rd in Europe in the number of secret tax deals made with multinationals last year. Only Belgium and Luxembourg made more.

GroenLinks will focus on an ambitious climate policy, stopping tax evasion by large multinationals and getting rid of the existing inequality in the Netherlands, party leader Jesse Klaver promised in his party's election campaign presented in a packed Melkweg in Amsterdam on Tuesday night, NRC reports.

A group of 80 technology companies from Silicon Valley in the United States wrote Prime Minister Mark Rutte a letter in May warning him of the consequences a deterioration in the Netherlands' tax climate will have, the Financieele Dagblad reports. The companies fear that a tougher approach from the Netherlands on multinational companies' tax avoidance will make the country less attractive for U.S. investors.

Central American companies annually funnel millions of dollars through the Netherlands in an effort to avoid tax. The Netherlands route is particularly popular with wealthy Mexicans and Ecuadorians who use complex tax structures to get their money out of the country. These structures are often technically legal, but "sometimes illegal", according to Trouw and the Financieele Dagblad based on the Panama Papers.

Finance State Secretary Eric Wiebes is calling on tax evaders to turn themselves in to the Tax Authorities. And to give them some encouragement to do so soon, the fine imposed on tax evaders who turn themselves in will double as of July 1st. "The longer you wait, the more expensive it gets", Wiebes said.

A majority in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, wants to hold a parliamentary inquiry to gain more information on what is going on in the Panama Papers. The parliamentarians want to know more about tax structures that run through the Netherlands.