11.8.2 Among rslis

There is a difference in fiscal treatment between rslis in different areas. The legal form of a church society, to which various incentives apply, plays an important role in this.

Regarding the difference in entering into covenants, there is a justification if all rslis, based on the fundamental principles, have the same possibilities to enter into their own covenant with the tax administration under the same conditions.

For church societies there is a limited obligation to publish financial data. This creates a difference between rslis with the legal form of a church society and other rslis. There is no objective and reasonable justification for this.

Church societies do not have to publish the names of their board members, because in violation of privacy law the religious beliefs of the board members would be traceable as special personal data. This exception does not apply to other rslis. There is no objective and reasonable justification for this difference.

In the (implementation of the) tax laws there is not a difference in fiscal treatment. In a single court ruling, a spiritual institution was not granted the real estate tax exception. Because spirituality is more difficult to define and spiritual initiatives are rarely formalised, a spiritual institution may encounter problems in successfully invoking the exception for buildings primarily intended for spiritual activities. Although no formal organisation or structure is required for a successful appeal to the real estate exception on the basis of the legislative text, it is clear from the legislative history that the exception is intended for church societies or spiritual communities on ideological grounds. For a successful appeal to the exception for publicly accessible buildings in which spirituality is practiced, it helps if the interested party can make a more comprehensive philosophy of life plausible as a basis for the spiritual activities, based on the ECHR requirements. This can be done, for example, by referring to a set of principles, philosophies and traditions as a basis for the spiritual activities which make these activities go beyond mere individual self-fulfilment.