Married cross-border workers face 'untenable' October tax deadline
Trade union Aleba described the deadline as "simply untenable" and asked the tax authorities to push it back by a month until November 30.
20.10.2017
Married
couples, who work in Luxembourg but live across the border in a
neighbouring country, have until the end of this month to determine
their Luxembourg tax rate for 2018.
Trade
union Aleba described the deadline as "simply untenable" and
asked the tax authorities to push it back by a month until November 30.
Aleba,
which represents financial sector workers, including thousands of
cross-border workers, said taxpayers needed longer to respond
adequately. It said it would approach relevant ministers and authorities to discuss the issue.
The "class 1" tax band is normally used for single persons and "class 2" for
those in officially recognised partnerships
In letters sent out by the Luxembourg direct tax authority, married non-resident taxpayers can
either accept a new proposed tax rate, ask for a different rate based
on their estimated income next year, or do nothing and, if there is
no choice, remain taxable in Luxembourg on both their wage or pension
in "class 1".
Married
couples have until October 31 to make their choice and inform
the authority.
If
married cross-border workers wish to be "assimilated" to
resident taxpayers and benefit from the same treatment as married
employees who live in Luxembourg ("class 2"), they must fulfil one of
the following criteria:
At
least 90% of the global revenue of one of the partners is taxable in
Luxembourg.
If
less than 90% of the global revenue of one of the partners is
taxable in Luxembourg, it can still fall under class 2 if the net
revenue of that partner abroad is no more than €13,000.
For
Belgian cross-border workers, at least 50% of the household's
professional revenue is taxable in Luxembourg.