The last day of the year is a natural time to look back on the year that is drawing to a close. But as advisers, we tend to look ahead above all else.
What did we write about in 2021?
In our fields of expertise, too, 2021 was dominated by the coronavirus pandemic. However, much of the news in this area concerned the extension and, in many cases, slight adjustment of measures that were already in place.
The biggest tax surprise of the year came just before Christmas. At the end of November, the Advocate General had already issued a bomb placed under Box 3. Just as many people were already getting ready for Christmas, the Supreme Court dropped this bombshell go off.
Incidentally, at the end of 2020 we were still writing frequently about the BIK. Business owners were to receive a grant based on their investments. However, it soon became clear in 2021 that this scheme would not be implemented. This just goes to show how quickly “The Hague” scraps schemes that have been announced with great fanfare.
What will we be writing about in 2022?
In 2022, too, the coronavirus will once again demand a great deal of our attention. Even if the pandemic were to disappear like snow in the sun, we would still be busy for quite some time finalising all the coronavirus subsidies and settling all outstanding tax debts.
From the start of 2022, it will Rutte IV Cabinet Let’s get started. One of the tasks that needs to be tackled with vigour is clearing up the damage caused by the ‘Box 3’ bomb that has gone off: what exactly constitutes the actual return that may be taxed under Box 3? The law After all, a decision on the collective appeal must be issued within 6 weeks of 24 December 2021. And subsequently, the individual tax assessments against which an appeal has been lodged must be reduced within 6 months.
But there are still plenty of other long-running issues. One example is the issue surrounding self-employed people without staff (ZZP-ers). The Rutte IV coalition agreement still appears to be relying on the web module designed to determine whether ZZP-ers do indeed qualify as self-employed.
Many of the requests for advice we receive relate to financial and/or estate planning. In this context, we are eagerly awaiting to see what Rutte IV will do with the business succession schemes. The abolition of the high tax-free allowance for gifts relating to the owner-occupied home from 2024 has already been announced in the coalition agreement. And it looks as though Bill on excessive borrowing will nevertheless be introduced by the DGA, with the threshold being raised from €500,000 to €700,000.