Cabinet recognizes institutional racism at the Tax and Customs Administration level

The office recognizes that there is institutional racism within the tax and customs administration. That decision was taken by the cabinet on Wednesday, sources confirm to NU.nl following a message from NU.nl. RTL news. State Secretary Marnix van Rij (Finance) still has to “tap the i’s”. After the weekend, the official recognition and a letter to the House of Representatives will follow.

In the past, the tax authorities worked with a list of scams that people could end up with without a valid reason. A study published at the end of March shows that nationality can play a role.

Ministers also discussed the issue last week, but were unable to resolve the issue at the time. On Wednesday, another “good and careful” meeting took place, according to Van Rij. He then announced that a decision had already been made; The Minister of Foreign Affairs did not want to say much about it. “We still have to dot the i’s and cross the t’s.”

In March, Van Rij called the tax official’s working method “shameful” and “discriminatory”, but he did not want to talk about institutional racism yet.

This was criticized by Rabin Baldewsingh, the national coordinator of discrimination and racism appointed by the cabinet. When the policies and written (non-written) rules of institutions or organizations lead to unequal treatment on the basis of origin, ethnicity or religion, we speak of institutional racism.

Cabinet struggles with precise wording and legal consequences

It seems that the government is struggling with the correct formulation of the concept of institutional racism and fears possible legal consequences such as compensation claims. It also wants to prevent the spread of recognition by the tax and customs administration.

“It is no longer about unmasking people, especially not among tax officials,” said Van Rij on Wednesday, without making it clear that the cabinet would recognize institutional racism at the tax authorities.

According to the secretary of state, these were “patterns that seeped into an organization” and therefore came about “involuntarily”. Van Rij also pointed out that the problem has been experienced in the past. “We are a learning organization with the ideas of today. We don’t want to be judged by the past, but we don’t want to sweep it under the rug either.”

Institutional racism is a difficult case for the company. In 2020 Prime Minister Mark Rutte admitted that this is also happening in the Netherlands, under pressure from worldwide anti-racist protests.

Tax authorities have stopped using the list in 2020

The problem revolves around the so-called Fraud Signaling Facility (FSV). In the past (in 2010) the Tax and Customs Administration registered approximately 279,000 people on this application without their knowledge.

Citizens can be listed for various reasons, including as a risk signal. An investigation by consultation with PwC showed that there were work instructions that indicated that certain personal characteristics had to be taken into account. For example, someone’s nationality can be a reason to estimate the risk of fraud higher, as can giving a gift to, for example, a mosque.

An exploiter profile was also created. “Low incomes, (according to the tax return) average income (above), mostly young, often without tax partners, mostly men and often foreigners were followed better. As a result, part of the tax and customs administration was more concerned with personal characteristics than with fiscal aspects.

This selection is made manually. Therefore, according to the Tax Authorities, the working method cannot be completely restructured and it is not known on what scale the selection of personal characteristics takes place. Citizens were also admitted to the FSV for other reasons.

The company is currently working on a compensation plan

The scam list is reminiscent of a benefits scandal, although it is a different system. The persons on the list have been considered suspected tax evaders by the tax authorities for years.

This had major consequences for the roughly five thousand to fifteen thousand people on the list. For example, payment terms and access to amicable debt settlement are denied. The Tax Authorities stopped FSV in February 2020 after the incident came to light. RTL News and loyaltyI

The government is currently preparing a compensation plan for the victims.

Minister of State Marnix van Rij (Finance).