The tax office is working with hundreds of freelancers who should technically be employed by the service, according to a report by the government auditors office Algemene Rekenkamer.

One of the tasks allocated to the tax office is to make sure that companies do not use sham self employment to get round rules on paying taxes and premiums. But the department says that some specialists insist on working as freelancers, rather than on staff.

So-called ‘zzp constructions’ are attractive to employers and workers, because they have tax advantages. Freelancers, for example, can earn an additional €5,000 tax free a year. But the tax break is meant for people who work for several companies, not just a single employer.

The audit office said the tax office and the service set up to compensate people hit by the child benefit scandal have some 300 people on their books who can be “classed as sham self-employed”. The workers are employed via an agency.

Finance minister Sigrid Kaag told the audit office in a reaction that some specialists refuse to become civil servants and without them, various jobs would not be done. However, the ministry does pay employee premiums on their behalf, which does not have to be done in the case of self-employment, she said.

Last September, NOS reported that the tax office needs to recruit 1,350 people to add to its workforce of some 30,000.