This is apparent from a report from the Inspectorate Taxes, Surcharges and Customs. That government organization tests whether the tax authorities act fairly with – among other things – tax matters. Around lawsuits this is not always the case, according to an analysis of five different complex disputes between the tax authorities and citizens or companies. In four of those lawsuits, the tax authorities violated the law.
Human size
The lack of human dimension is one of the criticisms of the inspection. Citizens and companies often experience the relationship with the Tax Authorities as ‘penetrating and omnivorous’, according to the report, for example.
“They say that the case has had a deep impact on their business lives, their private life and in some cases their health and family life,” is the report. “They speak of years of misery, uncertainty and great financial and personal consequences. They also feel in the cases studied by the Tax Authorities, which draws premature conclusions in their experience.”
Entrepreneurs more and more negative about the Netherlands due to political chaos: ‘This costs us prosperity’
Employees of the tax authorities have insufficient attention for this. They would be mainly concerned with performing their task and the importance of the tax authorities, and the impact thereof on the privacy of citizens of citizens is irrelevant: “They indicate that for them it is a business-legal dispute,” says the inspection, which adds that it is mainly about ‘winning’ with the tax authorities.
Think for court
In addition, the tax authorities violated Article 8:42 of the General Administrative Law Act (Awb) in four of the five court cases. This means that administrative bodies such as the Tax Authorities are obliged – if an interested party invokes that article – to send all relevant documents to the administrative court. Interviews with employees show that they do not want to flood the judge with pieces, and therefore make a selection.
This ‘thinking before the court’ stands in the way of thinking ‘thinking for the person concerned’ – a citizen or company -, says the inspection. Some employees would also see an appeal to Article 8:42 as a way to train a case.
Tax and Customs Administration tackles Dutch people who conceals capital in Dubai harder: ‘Best to take a step forward’
The Inspectorate also finds that information management is not always in order and that internal cooperation within the tax authorities can be better: Employing employees in complex lawsuits often continues on the work of other colleagues, and assume that the colleague did the right one. Reflection on one’s own work and that of someone else is insufficient.
Drive
The Inspectorate would like to see the Tax and Customs Administration engaging the findings to encourage employees not to see Article 8:42 of the Awb as a burden, but as a means to appear reliable, honest and transparent. In addition, she hopes that employees not only work from substantive and organizational drive, but also from social drive.