Tag Archives: holland

Opinion: Lessons from the Netherlands on Lib Dem strategy

Netherlands-4778 - Wooden GrondzeilerA few months after the UK Coalition Government formed in 2010, the Dutch Christian Democrats (CDA) formed a minority government with our sister party, the liberal VVD. To get a majority agreement, the VVD-CDA coalition made a confidence and supply agreement with right-wing Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party (PVV), which set out a number of policy concession to Wilders, e.g. on immigration. That was a decision with huge impact: the PVV was about as toxic as it could get for many CDA and VVD supporters. The fall-out …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 53 Comments

Should governments buy stolen data when hunting tax evaders?

That’s the question a series of governments across Europe have been grappling with in the last few months. Stolen Swiss bank data reveals key evidence about tax evaders from several countries. Not only is it stolen data but it is only being made available at a price:

A CD identifying around 1500 Germans who have illicit Swiss accounts was procured by a former employee at the Geneva branch of HSBC bank. The disc, which could return an estimated €200 million ($393 million) in lost revenue, was offered to the German Government for €2.5 million…

Merkel and her Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schuble, initially

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , , and | 6 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Ruth Bright
    How lovely Simon. Congratulations. Here's to the next 50!...
  • Pawel Urbanski
    The comments have moved to how we pay for it, but I think there is an prior question. The triple lock was our policy and it had a clear job: to catch up after t...
  • Chloe
    Well said Rees. I've seen no drop off in youngsters vaping obviously due to old school proxy sales. Far better to vape than to smoke , this tax will just make e...
  • Matt (Bristol)
    niggly correction David, in Welsh local govt there is an option of STV or FPTP if a council decides to schedule a referendum and the local area backs the change...
  • David Allen
    I'm delighted at the general consensus - excluding the Lib Dem leadership (!) - that as the OP puts it, "tax cuts are for the birds". Tax is at the centre of...