The parliamentary treatment of the bill on transparency and countering undermining by civil society organisation (Wtmo) is nearing its end. The aim is for the Wtmo to take effect on 1 July 2026.
Wtmo
The Wtmo contains the following three sections:
- information requirement;
- filing obligation;
- enforcement.
Duty to inform
Boards of organisations are required to inform mayors and designated government agencies on request about the origin, purpose and amount of donations received by the organisation of €15,000 or more (grants are not considered donations). This information must be kept for five financial years.
It is expected that requests for information will be made only in a few cases per year. But if boards receive a request, they should be able to comply with it promptly.
Filing obligation
Foundations that are currently not required to disclose financial data must file a balance sheet and a statement of income and expenditure with the trade register (Chamber of Commerce) within 10 months of the end of each financial year. This obligation also applies to foundations administration offices (STAKs) and to most ANBIs.
This information is then not public, but can only be consulted by designated government agencies, such as the Public Prosecutor's Office, Minister of Justice and Security, the police, the National Criminal Investigation Department, municipalities, tax authorities, FIOD and AIVD.