The current Section 3 capital gains tax, or savings tax, “still violates the treaty’s prohibition on discrimination and the fundamental right to property,” according to the Supreme Court. According to De Vries, this is good news for the more than two million Dutch people who have to face the tax. “Their rights are guaranteed,” says De Vries.
The Taxpayers Association has been litigating against the savings tax for ten years. The Supreme Court already ruled in 2021 that the tax was illegal because estimated returns instead of actual income were used in the calculation. The current ruling confirms this once again.
Pending the ruling of the Supreme Court, the tax authorities have stopped imposing the savings tax for the years 2021, 2022 and now also for 2023 until further notice. The ruling means the government will lose billions in tax revenue. De Vries: ‘There are a lot of statements that now need to be processed. Tax authorities will have a huge amount of additional work. But taxpayers also have to get to work themselves. They must be able to demonstrate what their real return has been.’