Dutch courts hold tax advisers liable for illegal avoidance schemes

The Dutch courts have issued rulings that hold tax advisers accountable for illegal tax‑avoidance structures. In a case concerning the so‑called “Cyprus route”, the court affirmed a 2017 judgment that Baker Tilly and client Coen Klawer each bore equal responsibility for using a Cyprus trust to evade Dutch income and corporate tax. Klawer seeks a larger compensation of about €8.7 million, citing new evidence about misconduct by the law firm NautaDutilh and disciplinary actions against a former Baker Tilly board member, but the court upheld the shared‑fault decision.

In a separate matter, the court in Oost‑Brabant found BDO liable for breaching its advisory duty by arranging a sham “Beckham” expat scheme for three sisters who sold a family supermarket chain for roughly €45 million. The structure shifted companies to Luxembourg and the sisters to Spain to claim exemption from Spanish dividend tax, despite lacking genuine employment. The court ruled that BDO failed to warn of the simulation prohibition and the resulting tax, penalty and criminal risks.