Record fine for Dutch tax office over personal data list

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Netherlands’ data protection watchdog has imposed a record 3.7 million euro ($4 million) fine on the country’s tax office. The fine was for unlawfully processing and storing personal information in a “black list” used to detect fraud. Data Protection Authority’s Chairman Aleid Wolfsen said Tuesday the government’s Taxation Service “violated the rights of the 270,000 people on that list in an unprecedented way.” It was the latest in a string of rebukes for Dutch tax authorities. Last year it was hit with a fine of 2.75 million euros for what the Data Protection Authority called discriminatory practices in a long-running scandal centered on efforts to stamp out fraud with child welfare payments.