WILLEMSTAD – The Attorney General (AG) of the Netherlands has advised the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling by the Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and the Caribbean Netherlands. The ruling had previously upheld a bank's reliance on Facebook posts by Curaçao’s Minister of Finance, in which he stated that tax assessments for 2017 and earlier would be “canceled.”
The AG, Wattel, concluded that the Joint Court should have dismissed the bank’s claim and that the Supreme Court should nullify the decision in the interest of legal clarity, even though neither party had formally appealed.
The Case
The dispute centered on a 2013 corporate tax assessment imposed on a bank by the Curaçao tax inspector. The bank contested the tax, arguing that its 100% investment subsidiary qualified for a tax exemption regime. The inspector rejected this claim, asserting that banks were explicitly excluded from the exemption. The Court of First Instance ruled in favor of the tax inspector, leading the bank to file an appeal.
While the appeal was pending, the Minister of Finance posted on his personal Facebook page that tax assessments for 2017 and earlier would be canceled. Two months later, he made exceptions to this statement, one of which applied to the bank. The bank, however, insisted that the initial Facebook posts created legitimate expectations that its tax assessment would be voided. The Joint Court agreed, ruling that the tax could no longer be collected and dismissing the bank’s appeal as unnecessary.
AG’s Objections and Supreme Court Review
AG Wattel strongly disagreed with the Joint Court’s ruling, arguing that the Facebook posts did not constitute an official policy and that the court overstepped its authority. He emphasized that:
The court was only authorized to assess the validity of the tax assessment, not its collection.
The bank never withdrew its appeal, meaning the tax assessment remained active.
The tax authorities could still collect the assessment unless blocked by a civil court.
Additionally, Wattel stated that the Supreme Court must now determine whether the subsidiary’s investment profits were correctly attributed to the bank. He agreed with the initial ruling that the exemption did not apply to banking activities.
Facebook Posts Not a Basis for Legal Trust
The AG further argued that the minister’s Facebook posts could not create a legally binding expectation because:
They were not officially published government policies.
Many Curaçao residents do not use Facebook and should not be forced to rely on a private platform for official tax information.
The posts, posted on a private page mixing personal and official content, were difficult to verify and had already been partially deleted.
Allowing reliance on such posts would undermine legal principles and fairness in tax enforcement.
Ultimately, the Supreme Court must now decide whether to uphold the AG’s recommendation, which could set a precedent for how informal government communications impact tax obligations in Curaçao and beyond.