Dear UENL Community,
The Lower Court issued its rulings on 8 March 2024 and provided us with a copy of the rulings yesterday. In all 6 cases, the Court has unfortunately rejected the appeal.
Albeit that we have emphasized from the start that this was going to be an uphill battle with an uncertain outcome, it is nevertheless disappointing, and we would very much have like to been able to share better news. In all 6 cases, the Lower Court has rejected the appeals on the same basis, i.e. the Lower Court does not consider the limited transitional rules for application of the 30% ruling to be in conflict with any general rule of law and/or legal principles, including the principles of due care, legal certainty, proportionality and equality. For those on the Google mailing listserve, you can find more details about the court’s decision in the email dated 15 March.
I will discuss the decisions and possible next steps next week with the legal team. To be certain, our bank account cannot support any additional efforts without another round of fundraising. To that point, we need to carefully consider the expenses related to the continuation of our legal battle (in money, energy, and stress) compared to the chance that justice will be done. Personally, as the Stichting Chair, I cannot receive any pay for my time (legally) and moreover, I need to be mindful of the (emotional) bandwidth I still have. This has not been easy on me. In that way, I also need to do some thinking of my own.
For now, I am sorry that I do not have better news. I know you will have many (technical, legal) questions, but I cannot answer them yet. I will speak with the legal team, discuss possibilities, and then I will share with you. For now, you might think to yourself whether you want to financially contribute to fighting further.
Sending you kind thoughts, also on behalf of the legal team,
Jessica