Anti-COVID measures spark Parliamentary questions
The Junior Finance Ministers have answered Lower House questions tabled by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance concerning the tax-related measures aimed at combating the current COVID crisis.
One of the issues raised was that of the timing and circumstances for default surcharges to be overturned and involved the question being asked as to whether only entrepreneurs having applied for deferral of payment were eligible for having their default surcharges scrapped. Supplementary value-added tax assessments in principle involve a default surcharge being levied for non-payment, which surcharge is overturned once the entrepreneur has been granted deferred payment quoting special circumstances. The Tax and Customs Administration will not, however, add default surcharges in connection with tardily paid income tax and national security contributions on condition that the underlying tax returns should have been filed in good time. Entrepreneurs must have petitioned for deferred payment in order to qualify for relaxation of the default surcharge regime. Entrepreneurs not having been able to make timely payment owing to the COVID crisis who have no further need for deferred payment by the time their supplementary tax assessment(s) reach(es) them can rely on their default surcharge(s) being overturned on condition that they should see to the prompt payment of said supplementary tax assessment(s).
The Junior Financed Ministers have commented that entrepreneurs are at liberty to lodge objection to default surcharges having been imposed including where they themselves had omitted to petition to be granted deferral of payment.
The legislative proposal aimed at dissuading shareholders from borrowing excessively from their own company, which was announced in 2018, has now been submitted for the scrutiny of the Lower House of the Dutch Parliament. Having originally been scheduled to take effect on the first of January 2022, due to the COVID crisis the new legislation has by necessity been put back by a year to the first of January 2023, with the fictitious regular gain being calculated for inclusion for taxation purposes as income from substantial interest on the basis of the shareholder’s debts to his or her company as at year-end 2023.
The Junior Finance Ministers are averse to implementing additional tax measures – such as temporarily reducing the value-added tax rate – in support of the hospitality industry, nor do they have any plans for rendering funds granted to SMEs or to other specific categories of entrepreneur specifically tax exempt.
Dutch version: Kamervragen fiscale coronamaatregelen