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There’s an envelope from the community in the mailbox. You tease him with dark expectations. Oh, not that either: the tax bill. Considering rising rents and health insurance premiums, having to give your hard-earned money to the government is painful. It’s even more painful when you’re financially depleted. How do you pay the tax bill from your own cash? It’s a situation the Swiss find themselves in again and again.
A new survey from comparison portal Comparis shows this. 77 percent were able to pay all tax bills between 2017 and 2021 with their own funds. But 16 percent (one in six) failed to do so. The remaining participants did not want to provide any information.
Young people are more affected
7 percent had to go to friends, relatives or the bank and beg for the money they needed. 6 percent were unable to pay all their tax bills and therefore received deferrals. The deadline has been extended, but you still need to transfer taxes. 3 percent face one or more enforcement proceedings because they cannot meet their demands.
These are scary numbers. As the study of the comparison portal shows, young people are especially affected. A large portion of young people between the ages of 18 and 35 (12 percent) had to knock on their friends’ doors. Among those aged 36 to 55, the rate was only half that; Among those over the age of 56, it was around 3 percent.
We learn over time
According to comparison expert Michael Kuhn (44), financial experience plays a big role: “One needs to learn to deal with large bills. As participants get older, they have less trouble paying taxes from their own resources. But of course this also has to do with rising incomes.”
Differences also emerge when looking at different regions. In Italian-speaking Switzerland and French-speaking Switzerland, 9 and 12 percent of respondents had to apply for a postponement. In German-speaking Switzerland, this rate is much lower; around 5 percent.
What are the chances of tax relief?
Despite many people struggling to pay their tax bills, the government rarely provides tax breaks. People must be in real trouble or risk their existence by paying taxes. This means only those with little income and no assets in the long run.
The relevant application can be made to the municipal tax office. The responsible authority then calculates what the minimum subsistence level of the person concerned is under operational law. If income is below subsistence level, authorities may consider waivers. Contact points for regulations and further information are the municipal tax offices.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
