Wrapping up in the Netherlands and starting up in France.
We all pay taxes several times a week, even if it’s just VAT on our purchases. You even continue to pay taxes on things you’ve already bought, such as property tax. And there’s also tax on something you’ve already paid tax on.
With the new world on the horizon, this form of sowing poverty will hopefully be abolished soon. Until then, declaring your income is an annual ritual that leaves 99% of the population feeling less than cheerful.
In the Netherlands, the ritual starts early in the calendar year and by May 1st at the latest, you must have declared everything you own. Online. Nice and quick. Except when you don’t understand the questions.
That’s why I always start gathering all the information on time.
And then I take the time to understand all the questions. I definitely needed that time this year, because emigrating brings new questions and the form isn’t filled in beforehand.
The French season starts on May 1st and lasts only one month.
This is the first time I’ve asked a tax specialist to help me fill in the tax forms. Another milestone.
I can’t turn a blog post about taxes into something beautiful or inspiring. But I can keep it short: this is it.