Dear UENL Community,
We have organized the most common questions that were asked during our community call with the litigation team. We encourage all to review this information to ensure that you are properly informed.
Please note: Only those that submit their information to Taxperience will be included in this procedure, so it is important that we reach as many as we can. I appreciate your help in that regard.
On behalf of the UENL Board,
Jessica
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who should submit the webform to Taxperience?
If you are or will be affected by the change to the 30 rule, if you support the litigation strategy that Taxperience is following, and if you wish for any “winnings” / “decisions” from the legal case to affect you, then you should complete the webform.
We recommend that all interested complete this webform as soon as possible. You do NOT have to wait for your salary to be affected. You complete the webform now so that Taxperience knows who you are and your personal situation.
The webform is found under STEP 1 of Take Action.
2. Do I have to submit the pro-forma letter to the Belastingdienst?
If you are participating in in the legal action of Taxperience (i.e., have completed the webform) and if the 30% ruling is no longer being applied to your salary as of January, then yes, you must submit the pro forma letter.
The proforma letter [and accompanying address list] is found under STEP 2 Take Action.
3. I do not understand the proforma letter. Do I have to submit it multiple times or just one time? What if I am still receiving the 30-rule?
You need to submit this letter every month that the 30-rule is not applied. It should be submitted within 6-weeks of receiving your salary. We recommend certified mail to track it, but this is optional.
If you were unable to submit the letter for a month, that is okay. This month will not be included in your objection (i.e., any winnings would not include this lost month), but you can still submit for other months lost.
If your salary has not yet been affected, you do not need to send a proforma letter yet. You should wait until the 30Rule is no longer applied.
4. I have received a response from the Belastingdienst to my proforma letter. What do I do now?
If you received a response from the tax authorities, please contact unitedexpats@taxperience.nl and share the response. Responses are roughly anticipated 4 weeks after sending the letter.
Taxperience is preparing a response to this at the moment. In short, in these response letters that you are receiving (as we expected), the Belastingdienst is asking for the legal arguments for the objection. In the coming days, Taxperience will be providing a letter that you can use to respond to this. The community will receive an email from me when this letter is ready, and the letter will be hosted on the website for your download and use.
5. How much will this cost me?
At this time, the UENL community has raised sufficient funds to cover the litigation strategy. You can expect that you will also incur personal costs of mailing the documents to the Belastingdienst (postage stamps and/or certified mail). These are the only known additional costs at this time.
6. How long will this process take?
It is very difficult to answer this question. The original plan remains a goal (~2 years), however this is an estimate that also is dependent on cooperating parties. Litigation is a slow process, and we cannot be certain of the outcome or time length.
7. What is our chance of winning?
This is difficult to assess. The litigation team has indicated that those with the original 10-year rule may have a slightly greater chance of winning since their letters had a different statement on them than other granted letters. Having said that, this is a difficult case and it is hard to know. We have a strong argument. The Ministry of Finance is already involved with the Belastingdienst, and we can anticipate a tough battle.
8. What is the legal strategy of this case? Who is the lead litigator?
The legal strategy was shared with the community during the selection of the legal firms. In short, the general process involves the following steps: a letter of contest to tax authorities, followed by an appeal to the lower tax court, an appeal to the higher tax court, and finally an appeal with the Supreme Court. Taxperience’s strategy removes the process of appealing to the higher tax court and, instead, negotiates in such a way that advice from the Supreme Court is used to inform the lower tax court.
Hans de Vries (the lead litigator for our case) is the co-writer of the only scientific book regarding the 30-ruling and has published numerous articles in tax literature, also related to the transitional period. Hans has brought several cases related to the 30%-ruling to tax court and has never lost one.
9. I heard that three cases will be selected and presented in court. How does Taxperience select these cases?
As this is a form of class action, three example cases will be tried in court. These cases reflect the three different ways that the 30Rule has been applied: 10-year letters; cases where start date was 1-1-2016; cases where start date was in 2013/14/15. Taxperience is responsible for identifying the cases using the following criteria:
· Pro-forma letters sent to Belastingdienst
· Willing to cooperate in the legal process (as indicated in the webform)
· Access to salary slips and copy of 30%-rule letter available (as indicated in the webform)
· Sent a copy of pro-forma letters of contest to Taxperience
· No change of employer during duration of 30%-rule
At this point, Taxperience has selected these exemplar cases and is working with these cases to confirm their agreement to participate. Selected cases will remain confidential – the legal team, the Dutch tax authorities, and the Dutch tax court are bound by confidentiality rules. Only reference to “case” with no other identifying information will be used in communication.
10. What if my situation is unique?
There are many individuals who wonder whether their situation applies. In short, if the law change means that you are experiencing a reduction of your originally agreed upon 30Rule, this applies to you. However, if you are uncertain, you can email unitedexpats@taxperience.nl and a member of the legal will try to respond. Please note that they cannot provide specific individual recommendations on your situation, but they will do their best to address your question.