The Cabinet again discussed the harsh report on the hunt for fraud by the tax authorities that got out of control, the so-called benefits case. “It was good consultations, but no results have been reached yet,” Prime Minister Rutte said.
For the second time, a large portion of the cabinet met at the Cabinet House, Catchways, over the parliamentary inquiry committee report on childcare allowance. At the end of December, this committee severely criticized the way officials, judges, the House of Representatives, and ministers dealt with parents wrongly accused of fraud.
30,000 euros
Prime Minister Rutte spoke of a “fierce” and “fair” report, but he did not want to specify the conclusions the government would draw from it. Over the Christmas holidays, part of the locker has already met in Catshuis. Then it was decided to award all parents 30,000 euros in compensation. This amount will be transferred over the next four months to anyone who has already been identified as a victim. It concerns about 9,000 people.
The second meeting today took about four hours. Insiders talk about a “constructive” conversation, but they don’t want to provide essential information. The Cabinet wants to have an objective response ready sometime in January and then have a discussion with the House of Representatives.
Too early
Prime Minister Rutte did not respond to comment in December on the question of whether the government should resign due to difficult conclusions. The commission noted, among other things, a violation of basic principles of the rule of law. The Prime Minister stressed in his weekly press conference, “I do not want to draw any conclusions yet.” “It’s still too early to say anything about it.”
