Council of State “complicit” in dubious collection methods of the Revenue Service.
The so-called FSV database came into being in 2013, and held 270.000 names by 2020. Based on tax fraud “signals”. Generated by algorithms, which turned out to have a built-in bias. Or simply conjured up at the desk of the overzealous RS employee. Added by a steady stream of anonymous info via tip lines.
Names of parents, for instance, who made use of the childcare benefits program. They were requested, out of the blue, to justify their application. A miscalculation of 10 euros earned them the title fraud. Plus an enforceable claim of the total amount received, sometimes over 10.000 euros, payable as of now.
Obviously, these practices lacked any legal basis, concurs professor of administrative law Bert Marseille. Victims went to court, but the Council of State judges categorically ruled in favour of the tax authorities.
Families of non-western descent in particular were affected, they fell into a dire financial situation. On top of that their children were taken away. Over a thousand. “There is not necessarily a causal connection”, a spokesperson from the Statistics Bureau says.
But that statement has long been overtaken by actual reports from society about these Out of Home Placements (UHP’s), by multi-disciplined units, in many cases led by the Salvation Army.
