Gov’t hopes to collect all due taxes
The filing of income returns for 2019 ended Monday, after a last-minute final extension to 5 p.m. to avoid overpowering the system.
A total of 3,186,503 taxpayers, individual and corporate, are called upon to pay an extra 3.5 billion euros in taxes, beyond those they pre-paid for last year and the tax already deducted from those on the payroll.
The big challenge for the government is to actually receive that money, given that both households and businesses are in financial straits because of the coronavirus pandemic.
A senior Finance Ministry official said that, so far, revenue inflows are good, mainly because those who submitted their tax returns after the original July 29 deadline were obliged to pay two of the eight monthly installments within August. This is important, he said, adding that he is concerned whether the payments will keep coming over the next months.
According to official data, 51.25% of the taxpayers who submitted returns will not pay any extra tax and another 12.29% will get a rebate.
