INTRO BY JOHN DONOVAN: THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT TAX DODGING, AN ACTIVITY IN WHICH SHELL HOLDS A BLACK BELT AND HAS DONE SO FOR MANY DECADES. NOTE THAT GERRIT ZALM IS ON THE ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC BOARD OF DIRECTORS. HE IS ALSO THE CHAIRMAN OF ANOTHER ALLEGED TAX DODGER, ABN AMBRO BANK N.V. HE IS UP FOR RE-APPOINTMENT TO THE RDS PLC BOARD NEXT MONTH. OBVIOUSLY A PERFECT FIT.
Shell and state bank ABN Amro are ‘masters in tax avoidance’: Volkskrant
Monday 01 April 2013
While the Netherlands has its own image as a tax haven, Dutch multinationals are masters at setting up their own companies in tax-free zones, the Volkskrant reported at the weekend.
The 26 biggest Dutch companies have at least 237 companies in tax-free places such as the Channel Islands, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, where they do no, or little, business, the Volkskrant says.
Shell has 85 subsidiaries in six tax-free zones, while ABN Amro has 54 in five. Privately-held oil trading group Vitol has 17. Most companies, including Vitol, are reluctant to give out much information about their activities in tax havens, the VK said.