The breakdown also affected other services at the federal finance ministry, caused by a cable malfunction. Finance minister Johan Van Overtveldt was persuaded to extend the deadline to allow for the problem.
In the meantime, tax declarations submitted online via an accountant will stick to the original deadline of 25 October. Paper declarations were already due to be submitted by 29 June.
The last week is traditionally a busy time for Tax-On-Web, even without a cable malfunction, advises De Standaard. In future years, better not leave things until the last moment. The newspaper publishes (in Dutch) an extensive dossier on filling out a tax declaration, but be warned – every year there are small but important changes to the rules.
Alan Hope
The Brussels Times