- The Court of Appeal in ‘s-Hertogenbosch ruled that article 69a of the General Tax Act is not intended for (well-meaning) entrepreneurs who are in financial difficulties, as seems to be the case in this situation.
- X, who operates a sole proprietorship accounting firm, did not pay VAT for years because he prioritized his child support obligations. He also did not pay the subsequent tax assessments with penalties.
- The Court found X guilty of not requesting a concrete and specified payment extension at the right times, but did not impose a penalty or measure.
- The purpose of article 69a of the General Tax Act is to exclude liability for actions of a taxpayer without clear evidence of malicious intent.
- The tax legislation provides sufficient other adequate instruments, and the Tax Authorities are expected to act promptly and effectively.
- Despite X’s intentional failure to pay VAT, no penalty or measure was imposed on him.
Source: taxlive.nl
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
