Top tax authorities ignored harsh warning about childcare allowance

NOS News•Tuesday, November 17, 2020, 17:10 Top Tax Administration ignored a harsh warning on childcare allowance How has anyone ever been able to give permission for this, legal advisor Sandra Palmen of the tax authorities wondered as early as March 2017. She was interviewed under oath today by the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on Childcare Allowance. At the time, Palmen had just read the file on the case of three hundred parents whose childcare allowance was suddenly stopped in 2014. The Tax Administration Department did not trust the childminding agency Dadim in Eindhoven. The file is now called the CAF 11 case. Palmen had a lot of experience with the tax authorities, but was just asked to join Surcharges. She gave advice to her new managers as she was used to. Her legal opinion was that Surcharges had acted improperly, that the parents' objections were justified and that they deserved compensation.Secret"How was it possible to stop the allowance for three hundred citizens in this way?” wrote Palmen. “How was it possible that these objections lingered for two years?” Her advice from 2017 was ignored and hidden away until a few weeks ago. On October 20, Secretary of State Van Huffelen sent the secret document to the House of Representatives, at the request of MP Omtzigt. There were pieces painted white. “This memo does not show the personal policy views of the official concerned in accordance with current cabinet policy,” was Van Huffelen's statement. Palmen read out parts of her legal advice, which the cabinet did not make public, today:Click on the link below: https://nos.nl/l/23569201:35De main warnings and advice from the memoIn the opinion, Palmen further wrote that the Tax Authority/Surcharges acted reprehensible and that it does not deserve a beauty award at all. The way we work must change, she said. Because the National Ombudsman was now involved in the case, Palmen advised the official top to adopt his advice.” Because otherwise escalation will occur at the level of the Secretary of State,” she added. In other words: the whole thing can lead to major political consequences. The House of Representatives's interrogation committee wants her to know why nothing happened to the advice. Palmen, now working again at the 'normal' tax authorities, doesn't know that either. She does know that there were “other visions” at the time. Reorganization suddenly stopped. Shortly after Palmen came up with her advice, the reorganization of the legal advisors at Toeslagen was suddenly stopped. Palmen should have helped lead this, but was placed in an “old style” legal department. She did not like that and she chose another job. Whether there is a connection between the advice and the reversal of the reorganization was not clear in today's interrogation. The Interrogation Committee will try to find out tomorrow. Then the responsible directors of the tax authorities and surcharges will be interviewed. The interviews will start at 9.30 a.m. and can be followed live on NPO Politics and via NOS.nl and the NOS app.Read previous articles about the Childcare Allowance Interrogation Committee here:Lawyer: benefits affair reminiscent of Kafka, ran into trouble wall To former director of the tax authorities: abdominal pain about the benefits affair, top knew about itinterrogate childcare allowance affair: from ignored official to Rutte The House is investigating how things could have gone wrong in the childcare allowance affair. What was meant to be financial support for families with young children became a long-term affair for thousands. The parents were unfairly classified as fraudsters by the tax authorities and sometimes had to repay tens of thousands of euros. With financial and social problems as a result.