As of 2012 Dutch nationals in other EU countries will no longer be able to avoid paying tax.

On its website Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reports that Deputy Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager has agreed to a European deal in Brussels to recover tax debts from abroad.

A number of standard procedures will be introduced in 2012 to make it easier to recover any amount over 1500 euros owed to the taxman.

Under the new regulations, EU countries will be obliged to help recover outstanding tax debts. This also applies to local taxes.

At the moment it is very difficult to recover this money. On average, tax offices in EU countries only recover five percent of tax debts.