UJP gives five days to file calculations for 2021 foreign income
Notices cover 2021 income and require electronic personal income tax returns within five days, prompting complaints over documentation and the short deadline.
The Public Revenue Office (UJP) has given taxpayers five days to submit an electronic personal income tax calculation after receiving notices about foreign income earned in 2021. The letters instruct recipients to file their returns through the e-Tax Services platform and to provide documentation related to income and tax paid abroad.
Short deadline, renewed public concern
"We call on you within 5 days of receiving this notice to submit an electronic personal income tax calculation via the e-Tax Services system of the Public Revenue Office," reads the letter sent by the UJP to citizens.
The UJP stresses that the requirement is a legal obligation but notes that taxpayers can submit evidence if they believe they qualify for exemption from taxation in the country. "Based on our notifications, we expect the citizens who earned income to submit the calculations and all evidence relating to the type of income and the tax paid abroad. The aim is to provide all necessary information for an accurate determination of the tax liability, taking into account that agreements to avoid double taxation and the possibility of tax exemption apply," says Elena Petrova, director of the Public Revenue Office.
Citizens have complained publicly about the practical difficulties of meeting the deadline and gathering documentation for transactions from five years ago. On social networks people say they do not remember all transactions, lack access to old bank accounts, or do not have the papers needed to verify the figures.
"They ask me for evidence that I am supposed to submit through their archive within five days (!?). And with an inspection of the payment transactions through my bank, their balance, and my electronic profile, they can check and see that they made a mistake," citizens react.
Last year the same procedure for income earned in 2020 provoked strong public reaction: around 9,000 citizens were contacted and roughly €2.8 million was collected. The recent notices have reopened debate over how to determine tax obligations accurately without forcing taxpayers to reconstruct years-old records under a very short deadline.
Photo: press material from the event
