Heavier fines for tax evaders

The Municipality of The Hague will now track down and fine residents who aren’t paying their municipal taxes. The fines, combined with much stricter inspections and surveillance, should mark an end to people not paying their waste tax, sewage charges, tourist tax, dog tax and property tax. People who intentionally try to mislead the Municipal Tax Department will be slapped with a big bill.

Deputy Mayor Sander Dekker (Finance) wants to make a concerted effort in the coming years to ensure that all residents of The Hague contribute their fair share to the city’s facilities and services. 

‘We are working hard to make The Hague a pleasant and affordable city. People who avoid paying taxes now face the risk of a heavier fine. At the same time we will make sure that there is an even better chance that they will get caught,' Dekker explains.

New fine schedule

Up until now The Hague had a fairly light fine schedule. Even when somebody was purposely avoiding paying taxes, the municipality charged only half the fine which was legally permitted. This will now be raised to 100%. If a dog owner is caught not paying the dog tax, for example, he will be fined € 112 for each year that he neglected to report his dog to the municipal tax authorities in addition to the annual tax of € 112.

There will also be heavier fines for not filing a tax return. A hotel owner who has falsely declared his tourist tax is now fined 5% of the tourist tax which should have been declared. Under the new tax regime, this fine will be raised to 25% of the tax which should have been paid. People who register with the Municipal Tax Department but neglect to file a return now get fined 5% of the amount. This fine will now be raised to the legal maximum of € 123.

More stringent inspections

The municipality will conduct more stringent inspections to collect dog taxes, tourist taxes, property taxes, waste taxes and sewage charges and local precario taxes. Measures include doubling the use of the scan bus, which tracks down tax evaders using their car’s registration number, and special campaigns like door-to-door checks to see if the dog tax has been paid.

‘Whoever thinks he can get away with not paying taxes will have to reckon with us,’ warns Dekker. 'We don’t want a situation in which the law-abiding citizens foot the bill for the people who don't pay.’