The document was used for checks of, for example, incorrectly completed tax returns. Personal characteristics, such as nationality or appearance, were taken into account in determining whether someone was additionally checked. Anyone who subsequently ended up on a ‘black list’ by the tax authorities suffered serious consequences. For example, people on the list were no longer eligible for debt restructuring.
According to the spokesperson, it is indeed apparent from documents released on the basis of the Government Information (Public Access) Act (Wob) that information about the manual was sent to Finance at the end of 2020. The tax authorities already raised the alarm about the manual in July 2020, Trouw writes. The document could no longer be used with immediate effect.
Wob pieces
According to the spokesman, it is impossible to reconstruct why the ministry did not act upon it when it was sent along with the Wob documents. Accountancy firm PwC, which is investigating the fraud detection system (FSV), recently reported that the information management about the system was inadequate. It is often impossible to find out why some people ended up on the list.
Van Rij called PwC’s recent conclusions “serious”. According to the minister, the selection criteria are “reprehensible” and “discriminatory”.