Earlier this month, the government called on business owners to take action on arrears of corona tax debt. You can read that here.
In our blog 'Temporary relaxation of (tax) remediation options for entrepreneurs', we discussed the amendment to the 2008 Collection Guidelines. Thanks to this amendment, it is possible for the Tax Administration to agree to an equal percentage (partial payment) as offered to regular trade creditors by the entrepreneur in the context of this remission. However, conditions are that it must be a viable business and the current obligations must be (able to be) met.
The special deferred payment due to the corona crisis has expired. For entrepreneurs, new payment obligations are due again with effect from 1 April 2022. This covers all tax liabilities for which returns have been filed on or after 1 April 2022 and which time must be paid.
Moreover, with effect from 1 October 2022, entrepreneurs are obliged to repay arrears accumulated during the special deferral in accordance with the payment schedule. The entrepreneur is given 5 years to do so, i.e. until 1 October 2027.
Some 266,000 companies made use of the special deferral during the corona pandemic. Although the special deferral has expired and there is a repayment obligation on these entrepreneurs, around 70,000 businesses have not yet repaid anything to the Tax Administration.
The Inland Revenue has announced that it will send a reminder (with debt statement) to the relevant entrepreneurs this month, which will be followed up by a decision in May to revoke the payment scheme. This means that the entire arrears will have to be paid and the Tax Administration will start taking recovery measures for this.
While the reasons for not meeting the repayment obligation (yet) may vary and may differ from one company to another, the entrepreneur should take action to avoid worse. After all, there are ways to achieve (tax) relief in consultation with the tax authorities. The relaxation under the amended 2008 Recovery Guidelines is still valid until 1 October 2023.
If you, as a business owner, have a tax debt that you wish to remediate, it is advisable to discuss it with the tax authorities in good time. Because of the easing, a restructuring could be attractive and possible in the short term. Our lawyers from Team Insolvency and Restructuring have the required knowledge and experience and will be happy to advise you.