International

The parliamentary examination commission which researched the tax office benefits scandal has presented their final report. For Socialist Party leader Lilian Marijnissen, the outcome is clear: ‘The report is very tough. And that’s completely justified, because thousands of affected parents and their children have been crushed by a monstrous machine that we call the government. Again, the Netherlands must face the facts: ten years of Rutte has resulted in a rotten system in which the government is not the ally of the people, but its enemy.’

Marijnissen criticises the attitude of those being questioned: ‘If you listen to the (former) ministers and politicians the tax office benefits scandal seems some sort of a natural phenomenon, but here, the truth is ten years of collective failure. This is not the tax authority or the ministry of Finance that own up to their mistakes, but the hard work of journalists and a few MP’s. Political responsibility should be taken. Enough is enough.’

Meanwhile, the compensation for the affected families is much too slow, Marijnissen says. ‘This is the priority now. As a result of our initiative, after the Christmas recess the House of Representatives is going to debate the outcome of the report, in which the question on political responsibility needs to be answered, too. The affected parents, however, are not helped by this. That must happen now. People have lost a large part of their life and their future, which can no longer be compensated. The least the government can do now is ensure that the financial compensation of all these parents happens straight away. We need to stop this bureaucratic nonsense. It must simply be done.’

More than a year ago the Socialist Party presented a so-called burn book, or black paper, with hundreds of stories of parents. Since then, the SP supported parents with their actions, and organised a Christmas benefit-action last year. ‘It is outrageous that we need to organise a similar Christmas action this year, too, because compensation has still not been sorted. We hope to ensure a nice and carefree Christmas for hundreds of parents and almost 1400 children this year. As we speak, more than 55.000€ has been raised for the affected families. We hope it won’t be necessary next year.’