Cabinet relaxes repayment rules for tax debt due to coronavirus

The Cabinet wants to show leniency with "essentially healthy companies" that still have trouble paying off a tax debt they have built up during the coronavirus pandemic. The existing payment scheme is therefore being relaxed, State Secretary Marnix van Rij (Taxation) reports.

Entrepreneurs get more flexibility, for example to pay quarterly instead of monthly. It will also be possible to take an "occasional payment break." This does not mean that the government wants to allow further tax deferrals. It previously announced that it wanted to get rid of generic support for companies that are affected by measures against the coronavirus.

The last general support packages expired in April. Companies must start paying off their tax debt by October at the latest and have five years to do so. Some 279,000 entrepreneurs still have an outstanding amount of 21 billion euros. The government is also taking into account that 6 to 7 billion of this will no longer be repaid.

In order to be able to invoke flexible repayment terms, entrepreneurs must submit a written request that shows that they cannot manage otherwise. Another condition is that they do meet new tax obligations. This is to prevent non-viable businesses from being kept afloat.