The tax authorities were too hard on the As-Soennah mosque in The Hague, possibly even discriminated against

Also read this article from 2020: Mini-survey on mosque fees often seemed like a political show

The case was brought by the As-Sunnah Mosque. Due to an investigation by the tax authorities, the foundation lost its so-called ANBI status in 2018, which entitles it to tax deduction of donations. As-Soennah believed she had been selected for an investigation because of her Islamic background. According to the judge, the mosque was able to substantiate this. According to the court, documents submitted show that the Tax and Customs Administration had “increased interest” in “donations to mosques”, and that mosques “are already seen as a risk of fraud in themselves”.

The tax authorities refused to provide documents about his selection criteria. Therefore, according to the judge, it cannot be ruled out that the mosque has become the target of investigation because of its Islamic background – and therefore there is discrimination. The mosque regains its ANBI status.

It is the first time that the judge in a tax case has accepted alleged discrimination by the tax authorities, say the lawyers of the mosque, Najat Idrissi and Touria Khidous. The Tax and Customs Administration says it cannot respond to the verdict “because of secrecy” and is considering an appeal.

Approach of the benefits team

The lawsuit won by As-Soennah shows that the tax authorities specifically targeted Islamic foundations, assuming that they commit large-scale donation fraud. The approach started with the so-called ‘Combiteam Approach Facilitators’ (CAF), which also hunted down parents in the benefits scandal. From 2015, this team started to deal with gift fraud. By forging receipts, scammers would claim taxpayers’ money back for donations that were never made. In a memo, the CAF team wrote that this form of fraud would occur ‘in particular’ within the ‘Islamic community’, and not so much among other religious communities. Although that assumption was not supported by research, the CAF team subsequently started several investigations into Islamic foundations, such as As-Soennah.

Why did the Tax and Customs Administration deviate from the normal procedure and did the mosque offer no chance of recovery? That decision came from above, according to the tax inspector who handled the file

Mosques regularly have to deal with extensive book searches, says Muhsin Köktas of the Muslims and Government Contact Body. “Then proof is requested of donations from years ago, which are no longer always available. As a result, many mosques are getting into trouble.” The ANBI status has been withdrawn from several places of worship. The Tax and Customs Administration cannot say how many mosques are involved.

Complete administration

The mosque in The Hague received a letter in 2016 in which the Tax and Customs Administration announced a so-called ‘third-party investigation’, aimed at a donor. For this it would be necessary to hand over the entire administration of the past five years. The mosque cooperated – unaware that the Tax and Customs Administration’s investigation was actually aimed at the mosque itself.

In March 2017, then State Secretary Eric Wiebes (Finance, VVD) was informed about the focus of the CAF team on Islamic foundations. This is based on an article in NRC which shows that the tax authorities were investigating at least nine Islamic institutions at that time. In a confidential note officials write that after investigating false gifts, the CAF team “came out” to the Islamic community. According to the memorandum, this does not involve ethnic profiling.

It is now out investigating the Supplementary Affair it became clear that this was indeed the case: donations to a mosque were regarded in advance as suspicious by the tax authorities. There was also a specific search for donors with dual nationality. The CAF team had been told by a suspect that this type of fraud “has been a common practice in certain populations for years,” says a team report released in the wake of the Allowance Affair. Donations to ecclesiastical institutions were not considered a risk, unless the gift came from ‘immigrants’.

Parliamentary questions

The Tax and Customs Administration’s investigation into As-Soennah ultimately yields no evidence of fraud. However, the accounting would show all kinds of flaws. For example, the mosque could not account for numerous gifts. The mosque fights the shortcomings, after which the investigation seems to bleed to death. Nothing happens to it for a year. Until As-Sunnah hits the news.

In April 2018, NRC and News hour that the mosque would have received foreign funds and that an intolerant message is spread during sermons. In one of the classes, female circumcision is even recommended. The teacher who said this will be prosecuted for this, but on appeal acquitted.

This is about a fundamental principle of law that has been violated here

Eva Gonzalez Perez As a lawyer, he started the Supplementary Affair

After the reports, the House of Representatives demands that the mosque be tackled. Promptly, As-Soennah receives a draft report from the Tax and Customs Administration containing the identified shortcomings in the administration. The Chamber also asks why the mosque has an ANBI status, while it does not meet the conditions: such a status obliges foundations to be open about its income, which As-Soennah does not provide.

Immediately after the minister has answered these questions, the mosque is told by the tax authorities that its ANBI status will be revoked because the conditions are not met. There was no mention of this in the draft report. The response of the mosque board is not awaited, nor is a term offered to rectify the defects. The court ruled that this should have been done. Partly for this reason, the withdrawal is unlawful.