Attachment

Attachment on your tangible assets

The tax enforcement officer can levy attachment on the tangible assets at your home or your company, such as your household effects. He will draw up a report of this: the attachment report. You will receive a copy of this report. If the tax enforcement officer has levied attachment, you will no longer have the power to freely dispose of your assets. The assets may not be damaged, sold, or given away. If you do this, this will constitute theft and Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland will report this to the police. The tax enforcement officer can also take the goods that are the subject of the attachment away.

If you still fail to pay the claim, the tax enforcement officer will sell the assets that are the subject of the attachment.

Attachment on your immovable properties

Attachment on immovable properties usually concerns your home, premises, or apartment. The tax enforcement officer will draw up an attachment report with the Land Registry data. The attachment will be registered with the Land Registry. You will bear the associated costs.

Attachment on your assets managed by another person – Garnishment

You may have granted your assets on loan or outsourced the management thereof. The tax enforcement officer can also levy attachment on these assets. In case of this garnishment, you will no longer have the power to freely dispose of your assets. Your bank balances or damage benefits will be paid to us in this case. The person managing your assets for us must inform us which of your assets are in his possession. He must subsequently transfer your funds and assets to the tax enforcement officer.

Attachment on your wages or benefits

The tax enforcement officer can levy attachment on your wages, benefits, pension, or other periodic benefits. He will claim part of your salary or benefits from your employer or the person or entity paying the benefits every month. Attachment does not require the intervention of the court. The BES Tax Act grants Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland this power. This attachment will remain in force until the entire tax debt has been paid.

We can levy attachment on, among other things:

• wages, holiday bonuses, sickness benefits, gifts, and bonuses;
• tide-over allowances and pension benefits;
• benefits like statutory retirement benefits and welfare;
• annuity payments of life insurances.

Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland will usually not levy attachment on the entirety of your wages or benefits to ensure you can pay your living expenses. Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland will levy attachment on no more than 1/3rd of your income.

How and when can you pay?

Even if the tax enforcement officer has levied attachment on your assets, you can pay the claim up to the date of the sale. In general, the sale takes place four weeks after the levying of the attachment. Pay as soon as possible, because the tax enforcement officer must publicise the sale in advance using posters and advertisements. You will also bear these additional costs.

You disagree with the attachment

You can object to the attachment. In this case, you must engage a lawyer to summon Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland. The case will subsequently be handled by a court.

Even if the tax enforcement officer levies attachment on assets that are not yours, he may still sell those. If the owner of these assets disagrees, he can file a so-called objection or appeal with Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland or the court. He must make clear that he is the owner and that he disagrees with the attachment in this objection or appeal.

Sale of assets

If you still fail to pay the amount due after the attachment on the assets, the tax enforcement officer will sell these. The sale is accessible to everyone and can take place at the address where the attachment was levied or at another location determined by Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland. The sale will be announced using advertisements in newspapers.

We will engage a civil-law notary for the sale of your immovable property.

The proceeds from the sale will be settled with your overall debt.

This debt will consist of the following, among others:

• the costs of the summons;
• the costs of the enforcement order;
• the costs of the attachment;
• the costs of the sale (such as the announcement);
• the collection interest;
• your tax debt.