Tax collection

The many weapons of the tax authorities

The question of when a tax assessment can be imposed and how it must be paid is largely covered by tax law. The debt recovery side is laid down in the Invorderingswet (Collection of State Taxes Act). It may also occur that the tax authorities – or you – need to use the civil law resources, rights and duties that govern relationships between citizens. How much has to be paid and when? Who can be held liable for that payment? Can you wait for the actual proceedings or do you have to pay first? And what happens when it is not possible to pay? What can you do to prevent your assets being seized and sold by the receiver of taxes? Such matters often involve civil law. In those cases, assistance from a lawyer is often legally mandatory.

What can we do for you?

The tax lawyers at Jaeger can help you in case of proceedings about: accelerated collection (the collection of taxes or premiums without waiting for the proceedings regarding their level); objection to unjustified seizure of your money or goods in the implementation of an indictment; directors’ and officers’ liability (for example, for the tax debts of your company); public sale and the prevention thereof.

Opposition: indictment to the tax authorities

An opposition procedure involves proceedings in civil court for which you are obliged, in principle, to engage a lawyer. The lawyer serves the receiver with an indictment. This indictment contains complaints about the implementation of one or more writs of execution.

Opposition suspends the collection

The objection procedure starts with the issuing of the indictment to the receiver. This temporarily suspends the authority of the tax authorities to collect debts until the court has given a ruling on the (legitimacy of the) indictment. 

What can’t you do?

An opposition procedure is not a new objection procedure. If no objection is submitted within six weeks of an assessment, it becomes basically irrevocable. This means you cannot use an opposition procedure to complain about the imposition and calculation of the assessment. These can only be debated if the (level of the) assessment is clearly incorrect. Those possibilities are therefore more limited in an opposition procedure.