More than 120,000 businesses still have Covid debts

Many business owners still have tax debts from the coronavirus pandemic. The Dutch Tax Authority reported this after 120,785 business owners had not paid off their debts at the start of this month. This amounts to a total of 5.9 billion euros of debts yet to be repaid.

Entrepreneurs were able to request a tax deferral during the coronavirus pandemic because the measures to combat the coronavirus were obstructing economic activities.

This scene began in October 2022 and will run until October 2027. In total, 266,000 businesses used the scheme. Most of these businesses paid off their debts from the coronavirus pandemic at the halfway stage of the scheme, the Dutch Tax Authority reported.

The tax authority are expecting some of the debts to never be repaid. This is often because entrepeneurs reach a restructuring agreement with debtors or they go bankrupt.

The authority noted that business owners who have financial issues can apply for a payment break, and the payment arrangement can be extended to a maximum of seven years.