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Nederlands (Dutch)
An excessive burden can lead to a (time-proportional) reduction of box 3 (Dutch tax on equity). A previous ruling by the Court of Appeal has now been confirmed by the Supreme Court.
It regarded a very specific case in which a man had invested his capital in SNS Reaal shares on 31 January 2013. A day later, i.e. on February 1, 2013, the Dutch State took over the shares of the financial concern to save SNS Reaal from a probable collapse.
Per box 3 reference date 1 January 2013, this man owned approximately EUR 275,000 in the form of shares in another company. This investment he exchanged for the shares in SNS Reaal, which became worthless on 1 February 2013. Because of this unpleasant turn, the man’s income fell below the poverty line.
Despite the fact that the reference date in the box 3 system does not take account of the development of the assets during the remainder of the tax year after the reference date, the Court felt that this was still an excessive burden in the tax year 2013.
This excessive burden arose, according to the Court, with regard to the fiscal year 2013 from 1 February to the end of 2013. As a result, the Court has applied a time-proportional reduction over the box 3 capital for the period February to December, so that his capital was only taxed for a pro rata 1/12th part.
The Supreme Court has followed this ruling of the Court, but it also found that the Court went very far in applying non-existing legislation in terms of a time-proportionate application.
It is questionable whether this ruling can also apply for example when crypto coins collapse. For more recent tax years, it can in any case be advisable to object to the height of the deemed interest used in box 3. This ruiling indicates that some evidence to the contrary – in addition to the stacking of deemed interest – is still permitted.
As an alternative to box 3, it is possible to only be taxed for the actual interest in box 2! For example, in case of fluctuating and / or low-yielding assets.
We can assist you with drawing up your personal income tax return, we can also assist you in a possible objection procedure.