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The Dutch Tax Scandal
NAZMIYE YIGIT-KARADUMAN FROM ROTTERDAM
“Unprecedented injustice”, the Childcare Allowance Interrogation Committee calls what has been done to many parents. The critical report on the benefits affair was published on Thursday afternoon, and the committee spares none of the agencies involved. Duped parents, including Rotterdam's Nazmiye Yigit-Karaduman, are not surprised by the harsh report.
“I already knew what was coming,” says Yigit-Karaduman. “'Sorry, sorry, sloppness'. The anger remains. I always shouted that I wasn't a fraud, but then they wouldn't listen. But you see, I was right. And yet, we have suffered so much damage.”
Many parents got into trouble because they were wrongly treated - often for years - as fraudsters. They sometimes had to repay tens of thousands of euros in surcharges, leading to financial and social problems. Around 3,000 people are expected to be victims in Rotterdam. Read more: Deep in debt, lost home and emotionally grounded; Genista is one of the 3,000 Rotterdam victims of the benefits affair
“A lot to miss”
In 2013, Yigit-Karaduman had to repay 32,000 euros in childcare allowance within two weeks. An impossible task. “I had to work really hard to afford that, sometimes up to fifty to sixty hours. I had to borrow a lot, I had to beg. And a lot of things to miss.”
The chairman of the committee hopes that with this report people's trust in the government will return. But that takes time, says Yigit-Karaduman. “We've all suffered wounds and they need to heal. But whether that will work, I don't know. I think there's always a scar left.”
Nevertheless, she is happy with the report. “It is recognised how much injustice and misery they have done to us. It is finally confirmed how messy a government institution can be.”
Compensate
The Rotterdammer calls for good compensation. Not only for the parents, but also for the people around them. “Because we're just totally duped. Our parents, seeing us suffer like this, our children; everyone. They really need to start compensating more quickly, because this takes far too long. It was supposed to come before Christmas this year, but I have nothing in yet. I'll wait and see if they're going to keep their promise now.”
The report does not draw any conclusions or make any real recommendations. The House of Representatives will hold a debate on the issue next year. It is not yet known exactly when that will be, but at least before the elections in March.
.avif)