Dutch childcare benefits scandal
2005ā2019 false allegations of fraud / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Dutch childcare benefits scandal (Dutch: kinderopvangtoeslagaffaire or toeslagenaffaire, lit.ā'[childcare] benefits affair') is a political scandal in the Netherlands concerning false allegations of fraud made by the Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst) while attempting to regulate the distribution of childcare benefits, that led to the collective resignation of the government in early 2021.[1][2]
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Between 2005 and 2019, authorities wrongly accused an estimated 26,000 parents of making fraudulent benefit claims, requiring them to pay back the allowances they had received in their entirety.[1][3] In many cases, this sum amounted to tens of thousands of euros, driving families into severe financial hardship.[1][2]
The scandal was brought to public attention in September 2018. Investigators have subsequently described the working procedure of the Tax and Customs Administration as "discriminatory" against parents with foreign backgrounds, as well as filled with "institutional bias".[4][5] On 15 January 2021, two months before the 2021 general election, the third Rutte cabinet resigned over the scandal following a parliamentary inquiry into the matter, which concluded that "fundamental principles of the rule of law" had been violated.[1][2][6]