Tax Splitter Wins Innovation Award from Dutch Ministry of Finance

How It Works

On 5 March, Tax Splitter won the Innovation Award from the Dutch Ministry of Finance. The award was presented during a ceremony at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht. Tax Splitter is a joint project between the Dutch Tax Authority (Belastingdienst), mintBlue, FIDES Labs and Credenco that enables automatic VAT splitting at the point of every payment, in real-time. Every transaction automatically splits the VAT amount and transfers it directly to the tax authority. A business owner paying for goods or services no longer needs to reserve, calculate or declare VAT. The invoice is the return. The system has been developed over two years in collaboration with the Dutch Tax Authority and includes a working demo where visitors can see a live split payment in action.

Why It Matters

The European Commission estimates the annual EU VAT gap at EUR 128 billion (2023). Dutch entrepreneurs spend an average of 30 to 40 hours per year on VAT administration. Tax Splitter addresses both problems simultaneously: it reduces the administrative burden for businesses and gives the tax authority real-time visibility into VAT flows.

We believe tax compliance can become invisible. Not by changing the rules, but by building the infrastructure that makes compliance by design possible. VAT proves the concept works. We are now applying the same approach to gambling tax, property transfer tax and cross-border levies. — Niels van den Bergh, CEO of mintBlue

Beyond VAT

The principle behind Tax Splitter applies to any predictable levy. mintBlue and the Dutch Tax Authority are exploring applications for: • Gambling tax — automatic collection from online gambling platforms • Property transfer tax — real-time processing during property transactions • Excise duties — direct collection at production or import • Tourist levies — automatic collection at the point of booking • Cross-border VAT — VAT that automatically reaches the correct tax authority in the correct country

International Recognition

Tax Splitter is cited in the OECD Tax Administration Series (TAS) report as an inspiring example of real-time tax collection. The EU is working on ViDA legislation (VAT in the Digital Age), which introduces mandatory e-invoicing and real-time reporting from 2028. Tax Splitter goes further by not only reporting, but collecting in real-time.

About the Collaboration

Tax Splitter is the result of a collaboration between the Dutch Tax Authority (Directorate Control and Finance), mintBlue (infrastructure and development), FIDES Labs (technical architecture) and Credenco (verifiable credentials and digital identity). The project began in 2024 with a Design Sprint and has since completed two full development phases.