Regaining trust

The Dutch Tax and Customs Administration’s Fraud Notification System (Fraude Signalering Voorziening or FSV) was closed in 2020 after failing to comply with European privacy legislation. Arjan Dikmans was given the challenging assignment of regaining the trust of the people registered in the FSV. Working on the programme together with PwC partner Selwyn Moons, Dikmans is clear about the importance of transparency.

‘The Dutch tax authority was given the assignment to explain to a very large number of people why they were registered in the FSV and what the effect could be,’ is how Dikmans describes the run-up to the process.

‘There was a list of 270,000 people,’ adds Moons. ‘The major task we had – and which the Dutch tax authorities worked on in parallel – was to look as honestly as possible at what happened to those people and the consequences of their registration. Based on that information, the Dutch tax authorities have been able to inform the people involved and start exploring how any damages can be met.’

Moons says that the overall intention was to win back trust. ‘And, where possible, to accommodate people. Many different actions and activities were needed, including mapping out the effects of a registration.’

Dikmans mentions an example of excessive oversight. ‘According to our own rules you are allowed to audit someone for five years if their tax return is incorrect. If we followed this person for six years, therefore, they were under supervision for too long. We didn’t comply with our own rules and that is what you call an effect.’

According to Dikmans, the assignment to communicate transparently formed a solid foundation for the collaboration between the Dutch tax authorities and PwC. ‘PwC basically had two roles.

Firstly, they were to perform the investigation into the effects on the citizens. They then had to help us translate the macro numbers from those reports down to an individual level. PwC grew from an external observer in the project into a partner. It felt to me like a very equal partnership and our goal was the same – to restore trust.’

Moons felt a similar degree of responsibility with this project. ‘The subject is painful and has been continuously under scrutiny. It felt good to not only be watching from the sidelines during a process that took no less than three years. This might sound like a long time but it was exactly what was required to allow us to build on a story of trust where transparency and honesty were the norm.’

‘There were also some tense moments,’ adds Dikmans. ‘Trust can only be regained if you are seen as trustworthy and that was my message to Selwyn too… It was vital that he was always open and transparent in his communication with us.’

Once PwC had mapped out the possible effects it became clear that some 270,000 people were involved. ‘Our job was then to identify who they were by contacting these people intensively,’ continues Dikmans, ‘based on which they called in or submitted a GDPR request to the tax authorities.’

Another challenge according to Dikmans was the complicated wording by the Dutch tax authorities, especially bearing in mind that the Netherlands has around one and a half million functionally (lower) (il)literate people. ‘While the idea that a language barrier might have led to registration in the FSV hasn’t been proven, we suspect this played a role and that really concerned us.’ 

As part of the project, therefore, Dikmans and his team put a lot of energy into the letters which were sent to the citizens. ‘They are clarified with icons and visuals and written in layman’s terms. I am convinced that a large number of people now understand the message.’

‘When I look at the figures it is clear many of the people registered in the FSV were never aware of that fact,’ Dikmans says as he looks back on the project. ‘We still apologised to them all, which was very important from an integrity standpoint.’

The process of regaining trust and the communication with those involved made a big impression on Dikmans, and it is the people registered he remembers most. ‘I feel honoured to have guided these people on this journey. Although not all problems are solved this way it was a privilege to work together with the PwC team and hundreds of colleagues daily on the programme in a spirit of openness and transparency. Whether I’ve helped close the trust gap with the general public is not up to me to say… That’s for the citizens themselves.’