Sozialsprechstunde: Bürgerbeauftragte berät in Heide wieder persönlich

Probleme beim Bürgergeld, wie zum Beispiel mit der Übernahme der Kosten für Miete oder Heizung, mit der Hilfe zum Lebensunterhalt, dem Wohngeld oder auch mit Leistungen der Krankenkassen oder Schwierigkeiten beim Kindergeld - die Bürgerbeauftragte für soziale Angelegenheiten des Landes Schleswig-Holstein, Samiah El Samadoni, hilft bei allen Fragen rund um das Sozialrecht. Darüber hinaus berät die Bürgerbeauftragte auch als Leiterin der Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Landes und als Ombudsperson in der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe im Rahmen dieser Sprechstunde. Zudem ist die Bürgerbeauftragte auch Beauftragte für die Landespolizei und damit Ansprechpartnerin für Beschwerden von Bürger*innen und Eingaben von Polizist*innen.

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Si vous achetez une maison ou un appartement, vous pouvez, sous certaines conditions, payer moins de droits d'enregistrement. Quelles conséquences si, par exemple, vous quittez le logement que vous avez récemment acheté avant la fin du délai imposé ? À la suite de plusieurs plaintes, nous avons enquêté sur la manière dont des personnes doivent rembourser leur avantage fiscal sur les droits d’enregistrement. Le SPF Finances ne les informe pas assez des conséquences. Certaines personnes doivent subitement payer près de 30 000€. Nous avons transmis au SPF Finances, au Parlement fédéral et au ministre des Finances un rapport d’enquête concernant Bruxelles et la Wallonie.   

À Bruxelles et en Wallonie, c’est le SPF Finances qui perçoit les droits d’enregistrement. Chaque année, environ 1 000 personnes doivent rembourser l’abattement (à Bruxelles) ou la réduction (en Wallonie) qu’elles ont reçu sur les droits d’enregistrement à l’achat de leur maison ou appartement. Elles n’ont pas respecté les conditions car soit elles ont quitté leur logement avant la fin du délai imposé, soit elles ne s’y sont pas domiciliées dans les temps.

Nous recevons des plaintes sur la manière dont les personnes doivent rembourser l’avantage fiscal et payer l’amende. Elles se plaignent surtout du manque d’information fournie par le SPF Finances et des difficultés qu’elles rencontrent pour rembourser subitement un montant qui peut monter jusqu’à 30 000€. Nous avons transmis un rapport d’enquête au SPF Finances, au Parlement fédéral et au ministre des Finances. Il contient 9 recommandations destinées entre autres à avertir les personnes qui achètent un bien et à offrir plus de souplesse dans les plans de paiement.

Meilleure information

Nous constatons que le SPF Finances n’informe pas suffisamment les nouveaux acheteurs des conditions liées à l’abattement ou la réduction. Des travaux de rénovation durent parfois plus longtemps que prévu. Certains oublient qu’ils doivent respecter les conditions ou n’ont pas conscience des conséquences s’ils ne se domicilient pas dans leur logement dans le délai. Pour ces personnes, le SPF Finances devrait leur envoyer un rappel avant la date limite, comme le fait le Vlaamse Belastingdienst en Flandre.  

Le SPF Finances n’informe pas non plus toujours suffisamment à propos de l’importante amende supplémentaire que risquent les personnes qui ne remboursent pas l’avantage fiscal.  

Plans de paiement plus longs

Certaines personnes doivent rembourser jusqu'à 30 000€ au SPF Finances et beaucoup ne peuvent pas rembourser ce montant en une seule fois. Nous constatons qu’en général, le plan de paiement que le SPF Finances accorde n’est pas adapté à la situation financière de la personne. Le plan de paiement peut aussi varier en fonction du bureau auquel la personne s’adresse, allant de 12 mois jusqu’à 36 mois.

Pour les personnes qui  rencontrent d’importantes difficultés pour rembourser, le SPF Finances pourrait être plus souple et accorder un plan de paiement jusqu’à 60 mois, comme c’est le cas pour le remboursement d’une dette d’impôt. 

Égalité de traitement

L’absence de procédures claires et uniformes pose également problème. À côté des cas de force majeure, le SPF Finances dispose d’un pouvoir de grâce pour renoncer à une amende. Mais les règles varient d’un bureau à l’autre et aucune information n’est communiquée sur l’existence de cette procédure. Le SPF Finances doit pouvoir garantir l’égalité de traitement entre les personnes concernées.

Jérôme Aass et David Baele, médiateurs fédéraux « Les acheteurs doivent être prudents et s'informer des conditions pour continuer à bénéficier de l’avantage fiscal. À Bruxelles, le montant à rembourser sur les droits d’enregistrement grimpe jusqu’à près de 30 000€. Le SPF Finances devrait au moins rappeler aux acheteurs leurs obligations avant qu’il ne soit trop tard. Ce rappel éviterait de créer des situations problématiques comme nous le constatons dans les plaintes. »

Le SPF Finances s’est engagé à mettre en œuvre les recommandations de notre rapport d'enquête.

The price of bad governance — a threat to the health and well-being of people

The European Commission has appealed against Latvia, as it has not developed an action plan to prevent the spread of invasive species. Although publicly available information indicates that the responsible authorities are currently working on the issue, however, it is very likely that this time non-compliance with the principle of good governance will result in a harsh penalty for Latvia. The infringement procedure is, by its very nature, bad administration, but it could have been avoided. Already in 2019, the Ombudsman discovered violations of the principle of good governance when examining an application for the restriction of an invasive species.

The government undertakes to provide an opportunity for students of all years to apply for the social scholarship

Last September, the Ombudsman drew the attention of the Cabinet of Ministers to the fact that students from large families who started their studies before 1 September 2021 could not apply for the social scholarship “Studētgods”. The Ombudsman pointed out that this violates the right to equal treatment and called on the Cabinet of Ministers to resolve the situation. At the request of the Ombudsman, the Cabinet of Ministers has undertaken to provide the opportunity to apply for the scholarship for students of all years.

Local government’s actions hinder access to primary education

The Ombudsman has received a complaint that a child cannot be admitted to any of the municipal educational institutions due to lack of adequate educational programmes in Valmiera county. Each child has the right to study at the nearest school, regardless of their state of health. Thus, the Ombudsman has asked Valmiera county municipality to implement a special education programme for pupils with mental health disorders in a general educational school and to inform the Ombudsman about the progress made by 3 April.

Ombudsman announces application for a human rights moot court

The Ombudsman invites students of higher education institutions or 1st level professional higher education programmes in law to apply for participation in the human rights moot court by 7 March. The event is organised to promote the interest of future professionals in the field of human rights, as well as to raise public awareness and understanding of human rights in general.

Information campaign “Nationality is an opportunity. Roma — one of us»

In February, the Ombudsman’s Office launched an information campaign on its Facebook page “Nationality is an opportunity. Roma — one of us” to show that, regardless of nationality, a person has the same needs, at the same time — there are so many circumstances that affect the chances of achieving the expectations. The campaign is designed showing how Roma people in Latvia have managed to achieve their goals, to experience personal growth, to integrate into society, while showing the reasons why some Roma find it very difficult to overcome difficulties, fulfil their ambitions and goals.

Ahead of International Women’s Day, celebrated on 8 March, Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina invited representatives of non-governmental organisations working in the field of women’s rights for a working meeting. They discussed the topics of preventing violence against women and domestic violence, equality of the sexes, and elimination of stereotypes and prejudice about social roles. The Ombudsman devotes special attention to these questions, since they involve one of the vulnerable groups of the population. He regularly writes on these topics in his annual reports, publicly brings attention to these questions, and addresses proposals and recommendations for change and improvement of the existing situation to competent bodies.

Manca Raušl, a representative of Društvo Ključ (Key Society), Ajda Černe from Združenje za Moč (Reclaim the Power Association), Metka Naglič, a representative of Amnesty International Slovenija, Maruša Kožman from Društvo Ženska svetovalnica (Women’s Counsellor Association), and Kaja Primorac and Ana Pavlič, representatives of Inštitut za proučevanje enakosti spolov (Gender Equality Research Institute), participated at the meeting with the Ombudsman.

At the meeting, Ombudsman Svetina emphasised that despite the great progress achieved in recent decades, significant differences remain between the sexes. Although women are successfully entering all spheres of public life, their voice frequently goes unheard. “In the labour market, women still predominate in poorly paid sectors, too few of them occupy leading positions. Unfortunately, violence against women is still very widespread, Slovenia faces a significant number of femicides. More needs to be done to ensure that the attitude towards women is based on respect of the equality of women and men and non-sexist stereotypes and behaviour. The institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman points to a few positive legislative measures in Slovenia; however, many fields remain that demand further attention for the improvement of the position of women and the achievement of gender equality. Even though we are equal before the law, research shows that we are far from equality in society. Numerous generations of women have fought for their rights, hence it is inadmissible to interfere with them,” warned Ombudsman Svetina at the meeting.

The Human Rights Ombudsman is particularly worried about the increase in the number of femicides in Slovenia. “According to data received from the Police in January 2022, in 2021 spouses or former spouses or intimate partners murdered six women in Slovenia. In 2020, the police dealt with ten such acts, while in 2019 there were five victims of femicide by an intimate partner. We are also witnessing cases of sexual harassment, which also occur in schools and universities. Therefore, I again call on the competent authorities to adopt a strategy addressing all forms of violence against women as soon as possible,” added Ombudsman Svetina. He expects that the people responsible also study and implement in Slovenia other recommendations by GREVIO (The Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence), as well as the conclusions of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which Slovenia adopted last week. The Ombudsman pointed out in particular that CEDAW calls upon Slovenia to ensure the collection and analysis of disaggregated data on all forms of violence against women and girls, including psychological, economic, and domestic violence, as well as cyber violence and femicide.

The participants agreed that there must be greater sensitivity in society in relation to violence, since this is a criminal act that must not be silently observed. For many years, the Ombudsman has been emphasising that officials, judges, prosecutors, police officers, and lawyers working with victims of violence should be constantly trained and educated about the effective recognition, treatment, and prevention of violence, so that victims can get appropriate help. We expect the competent bodies to prepare training programmes mandatory for anyone working with victims of violence as soon as possible,” said Ombudsman Svetina.

The representatives of NGOs agreed with the Ombudsman that a reform of the school system is needed and that the programmes need to systematically include contents dealing with human rights, gender equality, prevention of harmful stereotypes, and recognition of violence. Ana Pavlič from Inštitut za proučevanje enakosti spolov brought attention to the issue of women in rural areas who, due to economic dependence and lack of awareness of their rights, are very often victims of violence and various forms of abuse.

Representatives of Združenje za Moč and Društvo Ženska svetovalnica underlined that victims in procedures often experience inappropriate responses from the competent bodies dealing with their cases, which discourages many victims from reporting abuse. In their belief, female victims are frequently discriminated against in proceedings, which adds to their distress. Ombudsman Svetina believes that the state should reinforce free legal aid and expand it legally to make it available to anyone who needs it.

Manca Raušl, the representative of Društvo Ključ, introduced the issue of prostitution among young people. She stressed the need for preventive activities regarding raising awareness among young people about prostitution and other abuse. It is especially urgent to educate young people in educational institutions and youth centres where, in their belief, young people more frequently face prostitution or are forced into it. Metka Naglič from Amnesty International Slovenija added that young people should be educated about the new definition of the criminal act of rape and sexual abuse no later than in primary and secondary school. She especially warned about the poor health and care of Roma women and girls. The Ombudsman repeated that he has been striving for many years for drinking water and electricity to be provided in all Roma settlements.

Am Samstag, dem 04.03.2023, hatten Besucherinnen und Besucher der Thüringen-Ausstellung auch die Möglichkeit den Thüringer Bürgerbeauftragten, Dr. Kurt Herzberg, einmal persönlich zu treffen. Zahlreiche Bürgerinnen und Bürger nutzten diese Gelegenheit und ließen sich über seine Tätigkeiten und Unterstützungsmöglichkeiten umfassend informieren. Einzelne Besucher trugen auch spezielle Anliegen vor, die der Bürgerbeauftragte im Nachgang weiter bearbeiten wird.

Dr. Herzberg resümiert seine Präsenz am Stand des Thüringer Landtags: "Die Gespräche haben gezeigt, wie sehr die Bürgerinnen und Bürger es begrüßen, dass es einen Ansprechpartner gibt, der sie bei Fragen oder Problemen im Zusammenhang mit der Arbeit Thüringer Behörden unterstützt. Gerade in Zeiten der Politikverdrossenheit und auch der Demokratiemüdigkeit kommt dem Vermittlungsangebot des Bürgerbeauftragten eine wachsende Bedeutung zu. Das ist für mich ein Fazit der Gespräche und Begegnungen an diesem Tag. Außerdem habe ich mich sehr gefreut, wenn einzelne Ausstellungsbesucher auf mich zukamen und sich für die erfahrene Unterstützung durch den Bürgerbeauftragten bedankten. Auch wenn die Fälle zum Teil schon Jahre zurücklagen, wurde deutlich, wie sehr die Hilfe von den Menschen wertgeschätzt wird."