Working together to call, serve and equip people in prayer and justice, to prepare the nations for the coming of the Lord and His Kingdom.
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Dear  <<First Name>>,

Here is the promised update on the Tax Office. Thank you all for participating in the inventory of how everyone reports their donations to the Tax Office. We have received advice from the accountant and ANBI-specialist and we would like to share that with you now. 

Advice to the foundation 
The advice to the Forerunner Foundation as a foundation is to report all payments to '100 projects' to the tax authorities as payments to third parties. Also the payments to projects abroad and to people who have a number at the Chamber of Commerce (KVK in the Netherlands). The reason for this is: 
  • Projects abroad: because it is almost impossible for the foundation to verify when someone exactly is and is not taxable in the Netherlands. Often missionaries emigrate somewhere halfway during the project, or due to circumstances they are back in the Netherlands for a longer time etc. To be sure, it is better to declare everything and the tax authorities will check whether it really falls under the scope of each personal case.  
  • Entrepreneurs: because it is almost impossible for the foundation to verify whether it is a legal way of doing business. No invoices have been sent to the foundation, so we have no proof that the condition of "a sustainable organization of capital and labor" is actually met. For this reason, it is better for the foundation to declare it as payment to third parties, otherwise the responsibility lies with Forerunner Foundation to substantiate whether there is legal entrepreneurship (without us having received invoices or having other evidence in our possession). 

Advice to the missionaries 
We are going to report all amounts to the Tax Office according to the advice of the accountant (we will do this at the end of April). When this is processed, it will probably have consequences for the missionaries who are liable to tax in the Netherlands but did not declare any income. For the rest of the projects we do not expect any consequences. We will contact the people concerned personally (according to our inventory).

How should a missionary declare his income to the Tax Office?

The accountant has looked at all previously issued advices and has also looked at how the courts have ruled in similar cases (case law). Based on this he has issued an advice to you as a missionary. 
  • Income from other activities - there are some variables that can lead to deviations, but the advice is that in principle all projects that have to pay tax in the Netherlands should report their donations as income from other activities (in most cases this is also more accurate than 'as profit from business').  
  • Project costs separate from living expenses - you can usually declare the costs you have incurred for your project separately, so that the money you have used for living expenses remains in the box 'income from other activities'. 
Probably needless to say, but:
  • Costs for your project are for example: rent of building, purchase of goods, travel expenses for project purposes etc.  
  • Living expenses include: clothing, food, rent for your home, etc.  
Personal advice 
It should be noted that each personal situation is different and that it is therefore good to seek personal advice from the tax authorities (or work through a professional accountant) to get a definitive answer.  

What has really become clear to us in recent weeks is that the advice given 10 years ago or even 5 years ago is no longer valid! There is case law that the courts really do see donations to missionaries as income, even though it is not a fixed monthly amount. Part of the reason for this is that it is directly linked to the work; so if the missionary does nothing at all for a year, then he also receives no support. In other words, the support is given with the goal that the missionary can start doing certain work.  

Do not apply second-hand advice! 
It is a big risk to apply advice that someone else has received to you personally, because the situation may be more different than you realize. In addition, personally granted advice that you have in black and white can ensure that you don't get any fines or after-taxes for the past (the advice doesn't give you the right to keep giving it up forever). Obviously, this assurance does not apply to 'via via advice' which was intended for someone else.   

Questions? 
We can imagine that you might have some questions as a result of this. Feel free to respond to this update and ask your questions. If you would like to see the full advice from the accountant, we can also send it to you. (It is not our intention that you distribute this further). 
 
How to proceed? 
On the basis of this advice, we are going to further examine how we can adjust our working methods so that it is clear to all parties what we do and do not do. The accountant indicated that it is mainly a risk that we are seen as a 'loketinstelling': that is an organization that receives money and then passes it on directly to third parties. We have always been aware of this risk, but now we want to look again at how we can work as safely as possible so that we avoid the appearance of it.  
What is Forerunner?

We exist to establish prayer and justice in the nations. We work together with friends, organizations and ministries around the world to see this vision become reality.

Contact Stichting Forerunner
  • Website: www.forerunner.info
  • Address: Assumburg 119, 3328 BD Dordrecht
  • Mail: info@forerunner.info
  • Donations: NL60INGB0005358287  Forerunner, Dordrecht 
    Please specify the project number of a specific project.
    Donations are tax deductible.

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