News item | 08-07-2022 | 15:00
Various options have been mapped out to offer people who have not objected to the levy in box 3 legal redress, even if this is not legally required. At the request of the House of Representatives, options were also examined to focus the restoration of rights on smaller assets.
Depending on the option chosen, the additional budgetary impact could be up to €7 billion. The cabinet expects to make a choice on Budget Day whether legal redress will be offered to non-objectioners.
After the debate with the House of Representatives, a final decision can then be made. Taxpayers do not have to do anything yet to be eligible for possible restoration of rights. This is stated in a letter from State Secretary Van Rij that will be sent to the House of Representatives.
The letter discusses the possible design and considerations for the following scenarios:
- No redress for non-objectioners;
- Full restoration of rights for non-objectioners; or
- Partial restoration of rights for non-objectioners, whereby various options have been worked out.
The consequences of the options for implementation will be examined in the near future. The cabinet also considers whether a solution is just and legally tenable.
State Secretary Van Rij: “It is not legally required to compensate non-objectioners, because their assessment has already been definitively determined. Yet I also understand the people who indicate that they feel offended in their sense of justice. We have now explored the various options available to offer them redress. The choice of whether we will do this emphatically depends on whether this is feasible and on the budgetary consequences. The current recovery action already demands a lot from the tax authorities. And as a cabinet we can only spend the money once. In view of the consequences of the war in Ukraine, the high inflation and the impact on purchasing power, the cabinet will still be faced with a major task in the coming months with difficult choices.”
On December 24, 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that the way in which wealth is taxed in box 3 in certain cases is contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights. The approximately 60,000 people who had objected about the 2017-2020 tax years will therefore receive legal redress before August 4. All people for whom the tax assessment has not yet been determined are also eligible for the restoration of rights. On 20 May this year, the Supreme Court ruled on the question of whether taxpayers who have not objected to the levy in box 3 in time should also be entitled to legal redress. Because these attacks had already been irrevocably established at the time of the first judgment (24 December 2021), the government is not obliged to offer this group reparation of rights.
The government plans to start levying tax on the actual return in box 3 from 2025. This plan was recently discussed in the House of Representatives for the first time.