Taxpayers pay up to €25 too much

According to a calculation made by the consumer watchdog magazine Test-Achats / Test-Aankoop, Belgian households pay the taxman between €3 and €25 too much in taxes depending on their situation, L’Echo reports today. The magazine has released a prefilled form aimed at helping taxpayers reclaim what they’re owed. Last week, L’Echo revealed that the Belgian state had been found guilty of overtaxing through erroneous indexation, resulting in a loss of a few euros per taxpayer. Test-Achats / Test-Aankoop has calculated that the households most affected by the taxman’s error would €25.68 for the 2013 tax year, which is based on 2012 earnings. The magazine today put a standard complaint form on its website, to be sent to the regional tax office. It does not, however, urges taxpayers to act, stressing that it is a matter of personal choice whether to start a procedure over what, in some cases, amounts to as little as €3, while adding that it “cannot begrudge those who believe it is not acceptable for the state [to make such mistakes], and decide to lodge a complaint."