Taxpayers miss out on paper bills
Online tax forms cause unexpected problem for households just a week before payment date
TAXPAYERS who have not yet received their avis d'impôt in the post may have been caught out by a change in the tax form – which meant they had agreed to get information online.
With just less than a week to go until the tax payment date on September 16 (or September 21 if paying by internet), tax officials’ union Solidaires Finances Publiques warned that tens of thousands of taxpayers could be affected.
This year the 13.5million people who filled in their tax return online had to decide whether they wanted their avis d'impôt by post or online on their personal tax account page. However, if they wanted a postal bill they had to untick the box for an “online only” tax return, which had already been filled in.
Thousands of people are still waiting for their postal tax statement without knowing they had opted for an online bill.
The tax office sent out emails to people that their avis d'impôt was available online but, with full mailboxes after the summer holidays, it is thought that many warnings were missed.
People who signed up to pay their tax bill in monthly payments do not receive an automatic tax statement by post and they – 71% of the 37million taxpaying households – are not affected by the September 16 deadline. They pay they final instalment of their tax bill on October 15.
