Dutch gov't to admit to consititutional racism at Tax Authority

The Cabinet will acknowledge that there has been institutional racism at part of the Tax Authority. Sources close to the government confirmed a report from RTL Nieuws that this was the outcome of deliberations in the Council of Ministers. State Secretary Marnix van Rij (Tax Office) previously said that acknowledgment does not necessarily have to have legal consequences.

On Wednesday, the Cabinet discussed a proposal by Van Rij to recognize that the Tax Authority has been guilty of institutionalized racism on specific points. The State Secretary knows that this is sensitive because many people see no difference between institutional racism and racism as an ideology. But institutional racism is not the same as racial hatred, Van Rij (CDA) emphasized before the Council of Ministers. There were also concerns about the legal consequences of such a confession.

The Cabinet members did not want to confirm the government would grant that recognition after the Council of Ministers. Van Rij is finalizing a letter to parliament on the matter.

For years, the Tax Authority kept a controversial blocklist of possible fraudsters. Research by PwC showed that people with a "non-Western appearance" were subjected to stricter controls. Nationality, age, and donations to mosques were also considered risk factors for fraud. Van Rij already acknowledged that the findings are severe, calling the criteria used "reprehensible" and "discriminatory." But he initially did not say anything about racism.

Van Rij now referred to a definition of institutional racism provided by the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights. He concluded from this "that there can be unconscious, unintentional, structural behavior in an organization in which groups are treated differently from others." He called that "really something different" than consciously excluding people based on ethnicity, origin, or religion, which is simply a punishable offense.

According to Van Rij, explained in this way, institutional racism need not have additional legal consequences. He pointed out that people who had been blocklisted and suffered as a result will receive compensation for that, regardless of the reason. He hopes to share the contours of this compensation scheme with parliament before the summer recess.