The consumer association asks people who have taxed their savings too high in the past to get in touch. The interest group works with the Bond voor Belastingbeers because the organization wants all victims to be compensated and not just the people who previously objected.

In the summer of 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that the capital gains tax through 2017 was unfair and unlawful. The tax authorities assumed a fictitious capital interest rate that savers with assets above a certain limit would have to pay tax on.

However, the actual rate of return was much lower as savings interest rates were very low or zero and savers were forced to pay more wealth taxes than their capital brought in. Around 60,000 people who objected to their tax assessment had to pay back the tax authorities.

“Unreliable Government”

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled that individuals who had not objected should not be compensated. State Secretary for Finance Van Rij also announced in September that non-appealers are not entitled to compensation.

The consumer association does not think this is fair and wants to file a lawsuit with the government along with the guarantee for taxpayers. “We want to send a signal that the government is wrong. It has illegally collected money from citizens and is therefore an unreliable government,” said spokesman for the consumer association Gerard Spierenburg in the NOS Radio 1 News. “The money doesn’t belong to the government, so they have to give it back.”

The consumer association and Bond voor Belastingbeers are now collecting data from people who have not yet lodged an appeal and are joining forces to recover the overpaid money. According to tax experts, billions are at stake. Since this is a question of principle, the consumer association does not want to make any money from this case.