More taxes in scope for special deferral of tax payment obligations
On 2 April 2020, various taxes have been added to the list of taxes for which special deferral of payment obligations can be requested in connection with the Coronavirus, namely gambling tax, insurance premium tax, landlord tax, energy and environmental taxes, consumer taxes and comparable taxes levied in the Caribbean part of Netherlands. Please note that dividend tax has been explicitly excluded.
Further simplification special deferral of tax payment obligations
As of 2 April 2020 entrepreneurs can obtain special deferral of tax payment obligations for a period of three months through a digital portal.
The Dutch Tax Administration will send a confirmation receipt both in case of a digital request and in case of a request in writing. A single request covers all upcoming tax assessments that will be issued during the three months period. Hence, only one request for special deferral of tax payment obligations has to be filed.
For a longer deferral than three months, the request should be made in writing. If the amount(s) deferred do(es) not exceed EURO 20,000, the taxpayer needs to evidence the impact of the Coronavirus to its business, for instance by demonstrating that its turnover has dropped. If the amount(s) deferred exceed(s) EURO 20,000, an expert opinion will be required stating that it is likely that the financial issues of the business are mainly related to the Coronavirus.
Release G-account
The so-called G-account is used in the employment agency industry. Funds available on a G-account can in principle only be used for payments to the Dutch Tax Administration for wage tax, social security contributions and value added tax. If special deferral has been granted for these taxes in view of the Coronavirus, a request can be submitted to release amounts equal to the amount of deferral from the G-account. An instruction for submitting the requests will be published on the website of the Dutch Tax Administration.
Suppliers of electricity and gas
Suppliers of electricity and gas are offered partial deferral of payment of energy tax, renewable energy surcharge and value added tax for the months April, May and June. It is intended that the supplier will consequently not charge these amounts to the relevant customers in those months. The amounts deferred will be charged in one invoice in October.
This deferral of payment only covers the energy tax, renewable energy surcharge and value added tax relating to the supply of electricity or gas where the invoice is not on an advance basis, or where the term of the final invoice is less than one month. In practice this will almost always concern large electricity or gas consumers. Households and small business therefore do not fall under this deferral arrangement. The letter indicates that it is possible that small suppliers may not be able to participate due to costs of implementation and limited personnel.
Measures to improve the VAT position
Last week we published an article about measures that may be taken by taxpayers to improve their VAT position. Read more.
Q&A regarding tax relief measures due to COVID-19 crisis
Last week we published a Q&A on formal aspects regarding (i) special deferral of payment, (ii) notification of payment inability, and (iii) revision of provisional tax assessments. Read more.
For a complete overview of the Dutch measures see here.