Tax office investigation of gifts to Hague mosque not discrimination: Appeals court

The Tax Authority did have the right to investigate gifts to the As-Soennah mosque in The Hague, the court of appeal ruled last month, NU.nl reports. A previous court ruled that the tax office may have discriminated against the mosque in The Hague with its investigations.

The Tax Authority had been investigating gifts to the As-Soennah mosque since 2012. It questioned whether the mosque, as a religious institution, was entitled to ANBI status and its related tax benefits.

In 2018, the Tax Authority withdrew the status after reports that the mosque received foreign donations and spread intolerant messages. It ordered the mosque to pay the tax cuts it received between 2008 and 2018.

The mosque felt the Tax Authority had targeted it due to its Islamic background and took the matter to court. In August last year, the court in The Hague ruled that it could not exclude that the Tax Authority had discriminated when it opened the investigations into As-Soennah. It ruled the investigation unjustified.

But the court of appeal disagrees. In its ruling in July this year, the court said that “when initiating the investigations, the inspector did not apply a selection criterion that constitutes a violation of a fundamental right of the institution.” According to the appeals court, there is no evidence that the Tax Authority investigated the mosque because it is an Islamic institution, and there was no unlawful conduct during the investigations.

The As-Soennah mosque retains its ANBI status. In August last year’s ruling, the court said the Tax Authority should refund the amount in tax cuts it had collected from As-Soennah. The appeals court did not alter that part of the ruling - it agreed that a refund from the tax office was the right decision.