Prof. Sigrid Hemels, professor of tax law at Erasmus School of Law, once again wrote an expert contribution for the Financieele Dagblad (FD). In this opinion piece, Prof. Hemels emphasizes the importance of not making fraud investigations impossible for lower and middle incomes.
Prof. Hemels points out that case law shows that fraud with gift deductions for one-off gifts was committed on a relatively large scale by average and middle incomes between €20.000 and €60.000. Declaration agencies have deducted gifts that were never made. False receipts were also used.
A bill is currently before the House of Representatives that will make this form of fraud impossible from 1 January 2021 by excluding cash gifts from deduction. It will also become more difficult in the 2020 declaration to claim gifts 'by accident'.
According to Prof. Hemels, this does not mean that gift deduction fraud will no longer take place. For that reason, if the gift deduction is abolished, the good suffer from the bad. Prof. Hemels, therefore, states that it is better to deal with the bad. For this reason, the tax authorities must be able to continue to conduct fraud investigations. She also expects citizens to take a critical attitude towards tax reporting agencies that promise mountains of gold. She finds the current atmosphere that seems to be turning against all fraud investigations among low and middle incomes, unwise. You have the obligation to pay your tax not only towards the government, but also towards your fellow citizens. Regardless of the level of your income.
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About Prof. Hemels
Sigrid Hemels is professor of tax law at Erasmus School of Law of Erasmus University Rotterdam, visiting professor of tax law at Lund University Sweden and PSL counsel at Allen & Overy Amsterdam. She conducts research into tax facilities for art, culture and charities. She also publishes and lectures at home and abroad on various other subjects, such as European tax law.
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