Belgium is leader in complex tax returns

With a total of 772 possible fields to complete for a tax declaration, Belgium leads the pack when it comes to complex tax return forms, according to Deloitte. The consultancy firm compared the tax return forms in various countries, and Belgium’s (and Spain’s) were the most complex, according to Knack.be.

For the study, Deloitte compared 34 countries by questioning colleague tax consultants in several European countries, China, Brazil, Russia, Japan and the US. They looked at the number of fields and codes provided on the forms, the time needed to complete the declaration and the amount of time between declaration and settlement.

In Belgium, an additional 43 codes were added to the 2015 declaration, Deloitte adds, due to a reformed property tax law. The consultancy also adds that the mandatory joint declaration for married couples and legal cohabitants (the exception rather than the rule outside of Belgium) means that many boxes are duplicated.

Despite these nuances, Deloitte’s study shows that there is room for improvement in Belgium. "What you have is a very complex situation, making it virtually impossible for the average taxpayer to fill in their tax return correctly," said Patrick Derthoo of Deloitte.

The situation is especially daunting for people who move to another province or who own several properties. Therefore, Deloitte recommends that the government provide computerized declarations containing as much pre-filled information as possible. This is already partially the case, so it must be technically possible, according to Derthoo.