Court Rules No Right to Deduct Input Tax for Shareholder Advice Costs

• The court case is from Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant, dated 22-08-2025
• The issue is whether there is a right to deduct input tax
• Input tax can be deducted if there is a direct link between the service or goods received and the taxable activities or if the costs are part of general expenses
• The burden of proof for the right to deduct input tax lies with the taxpayer
• The taxpayer claims to be the recipient of advisory services and that these costs are part of their taxable economic activity
• The inspector argues there is no direct link between the advisory services and the taxpayer’s taxable activities
• The court previously ruled that the advisory costs are personal expenses of shareholders, not business expenses of the taxpayer
• The court finds no direct link between the advisory costs and the taxpayer’s economic activity
• The taxpayer is not entitled to deduct input tax

Source: uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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