Dutch House Raided over Unpaid Taxes

In October of 2008 Dutch lawmakers made an amendment to their Betting and Gaming Tax Act which added a clause to have poker players taxed at a rate of 29% for their online winnings from foreign gambling sites, but no from domestic sites.

Since that time the Dutch government has been trying to pursue players they believe have made money gambling online. They have sent out tax law information and requests or tax returns to suspected winners.

This law has been seen as unfair and poker pros like Marcel Luske and Peter Dalhuijsen have move out of the Netherlands, supposedly to avoid the tax. Another Dutch player, Steven Van Zadelhoff, had his house raided recently by tax authorities saying that he owed hundreds of thousands in unpaid taxes.

Steven van Zadelhoff has had many notable live tournament successes, including winning the 2009 Spanish Poker Tour Grand Finale on the 25th Nov for $148,588. However, it is online where Steven van Zadelhoff really shines and he is a member of Everest Poker’s Team Everest, where he plays No Limit Hold’emcash games up to $10/20. He has also taken down some major online tournaments including winning the PokerStars Sunday Million event on 22nd April 2007 for $164,000, and the Full Tilt Poker $350k Guaranteed “Sunday Brawl” in 2009 for $93,287.

Following the raid on his home by the Dutch IRS, Van Zadelhoff’s lawyer Peter Plasman made the following statement: “We were and still are in negotiation with the tax office. My client has never suggested not wanting to pay his debts. He is leaving for Malta because he needs to relax in a peaceful environment without worrying about taxes”.

News Added: 02 February, 2010

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