Tax authorities demand punishment for supervisors and benefits affair

Great dissatisfaction

By Pieter Klein·November 26, 2019·Updated: December 2, 2019

Ambtenaren Belastingdienst eisen straf voor leidinggevenden toeslagenaffaire — © ANP

RTL News

Tax authorities are calling for action against executives responsible for the benefits affair, which unlawfully stopped childcare benefits. Employees believe that those involved should be disciplined.

Some are openly calling for the National Investigation Service to be called in, according to a series of angry reactions from employees on the Beeldkrant, the intranet of the tax authorities, which RTL News and Trouw had access to.

Great dissatisfaction

Tax authorities officials there vent about the benefits affair and insist that “responsibility” be taken after all. There is great dissatisfaction and officials think reactions from the top of the tax authorities and Secretary of State Snel (Finance) are far too weak. The officials also refer to the today's revelations — that the Secretary of State had also known what mistakes were made for a long time, and that thousands of parents were duped as a result. “Stop it! Take responsibility and pack your bags. All of them.”

Staatssecretaris Snel misleidde Kamer in toeslagenaffaire, hield documenten achter

Secretary of State Snel misled House into benefits affair, withheld documents

The top boss of the tax authorities, Director General (DG) Jaap Uijlenbroek, will have a particularly hard time. He said in an internal blog last week: “So let's take the criticism to heart.”

Not heard

Especially that 'we' has set bad blood. Many employees say they sounded the alarm for years, tried to do their job properly, but were not heard. They believe that senior managers should draw consequences themselves. They point to the “higher echelons” who deliberately made the choice to deal with parents mercilessly: “So that's not due to 'the employee'.” Secretary of State Snel has not yet addressed any officials who were responsible for acting against the law by the tax authorities. Like the Donner Commission, which investigated the affair, he only spoke of “institutional bias”, which unfairly labeled people as fraudsters and ended up in major financial problems.

Appropriate measure

Uijlenbroek does not rule out measures today in response to the storm of internal criticism: “Where individuals have demonstrably and imputably made mistakes, an appropriate measure must and will of course be taken.”

Minister Hoekstra door het stof om toeslagenaffaire, 'had niet zo gemogen'

Minister Hoekstra because of the dust about the benefits affair, 'should not have been this way'

This announcement comes after numerous calls to clean up after all. “For many, everything begs the question whether personal responsibility is really still being taken for this Benefits affair. Much-needed for a start to restore trust in the tax authorities.”

In court

If that does not happen, this official writes, the “authoritative functioning” of the official top will decline. If measures are not forthcoming, Snel may have to take credit for himself: “An administrator is also responsible for the 'mistakes' of his predecessor.” For some (former) employees, it is already certain that top officials at the time “must appear in court to let them rule on the crime of office”. “The only way you can regain the trust of citizens, us (employees) and our very courageous whistleblower.”

“Very serious actions”

Others wonder: “Has the National Investigation Service been notified or deployed? Because it should be clear that things are not good at the top...” To which a colleague says this is long overdue and that “obstruction of justice” is imminent. A fellow official says that “very serious actions have been committed within our organization”, which may have criminal consequences.

Bewijs voor machtsmisbruik duikt op in toeslagenaffaire: 'Ontluisterend beeld'

Evidence of abuse of power emerges in benefits affair: 'Disconcerting picture'

An official says that it is now time for “we, as tax officers, to reserve the Malieveld in The Hague for a protest campaign of a few days”. “Not for more pay (although that's welcome, of course), but as a protest against those responsible for this enormous chaos.” It is time, says this official, for people to look in the mirror and then draw their conclusions.

“Ruthless urge to act”

The officials are also upset because many have already raised the alarm internally. “Many employees have indicated for years that this is not how you can deal with beneficiaries (citizens).” Others point out that service employees attach great importance to integrity and that they abhor the “ruthless drive” on the part of managers and the “disrespect against citizens”. “My stomach is starting to spin.”

Service stacks blunder after blunder

The flood of reactions to the tax authorities intranet shows how much damage the benefits affair and its settlement has caused: “After 46 years of being a proud employee of the tax authorities, I am on the verge of retirement,” writes an employee. “When I look back on these years, I get angry, VERY angry. How has this organization been able to slip from a perfectly running and best-performing law enforcement organization to this organization? Everything that was instilled in me in those 46 years does not seem to apply to senior service management.” Officials make it clear that they are often addressed by citizens in their daily work, that they are no longer trusted. And that they are ashamed of their own service. What also stings is that, according to the officials, the policy makers are piling blunder after blunder and the workplace must then take the hit and clean up the mess. “That goes wrong once. So wrong that there are colleagues who can't and won't watch the mess anymore and seize the opportunity to turn their backs on the tax authorities at the first opportunity.”

Over the past few days, the House of Representatives has asked a series of new critical questions to Secretary of State Snel about the illegal actions of the tax authorities and who was responsible for them. He must also provide text and explanation about withholding documents. Next week, a heavily charged Parliamentary debate about the affair awaits Snel.

RTL News - Whistleblower can no longer watch tax abuses

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02:51

Pierre Niessen, former employee of the tax authorities, saw from the inside how things went wrong. He raised the abuses, but he was not thanked for that.