The deadline which allowed chartered accountants to submit their clients’ tax declarations in October has been abolished. This year, everything must be done by the end of September. An overload of work which, according to them, will be very complicated to manage.
Since the introduction of Tax-on-web in the early 2000s, accountants have one month longer to enter tax declarations. July, August, September and October, a bonus, were already busy months.
This year, the Minister of Finance is shortening the deadline, three months instead of four. The 35,000 accountants in Belgium are under pressure.
“We ask them to take a minimum of leave during the difficult period. They are asked to work overtime, and we constantly stress that we cannot do it. We are afraid that a member of staff will fall ill. is really very complicated”says Christophe Dachet, an accountant and tax expert.
Added to this is the Tax-on-web program, which often wastes time that is already missing. “When we enter the Tax-on-web, either it slips or we find ourselves ejected. What will happen in the next two weeks? We may once more be stuck in front of our PC, to try to fill in the declarations. It would not be the first time that this would happen in any case”continues Christophe Dachet.
On average, a tax declaration requires fifteen hours of work. Most accountants worry regarding not finishing all their files on time. “I wonder if the minister would impose this type of schedule on his administration. I don’t think so,” concludes Christophe Dachet.
To deal with the situation, hiring staff might be a solution. Unfortunately, there are hardly any qualified accountants available on the job market.
