Pierre Gramegna, Luxembourg's Minister of Finance;
In the context of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Luxembourg's government decided to further strengthen support for companies and the self-employed, particularly those active in the hospitality sector, which has been hardest hit by current health measures.
In order to meet the financing and liquidity needs, companies and self-employed persons offering catering and / or drinking services can now more easily request a refund and / or a cancellation of their tax advances.
Legal entities and natural persons active in this field can make a simple request for cancellation of advances for the last two quarters of the year 2020 and / or the first two quarters of the year 2021. Insofar as these advances have already been paid, the Luxembourg Inland Revenue (Administration des contributions directes) will reimburse them. This measure covers advances of income tax (communities and individuals) and municipal business tax.
To benefit from this measure, eligible companies and / or individuals should send the respective forms to the Luxembourg Inland Revenue; these are available, as of today, at: https://impotsdirects.public.lu/. The request is automatically accepted upon receipt by the administration.
In addition to this special procedure applicable to the catering and / or drinking establishment sector, all other taxpayers also have the possibility of obtaining a reduction in their tax advances, upon a reasoned request to the Luxembourg Inland Revenue.
In addition, Bill 7746, tabled by the government on 15 January 2021, extends the filing deadlines for certain tax returns. As such, the filing deadline for declarations for personal and corporate income tax for the year 2020 is set at 30 June instead of 31 March 2021. The same applies for commercial tax. Regarding declarations for personal income tax and for commercial personal tax for the year 2019, an extension of the deadline for filing declarations will be allowed until 31 March 2021.
Pierre Gramegna, Minister of Finance, commented: “The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have negative repercussions on the Luxembourg economy and in particular on companies working in the hotel and catering sector. In order to deal with the liquidity problems that these businesses are suffering from the closure of restaurants and cafes, the government is reintroducing the simplified cancellation and reimbursement of tax advances. This is an effective supportive tax measure, which was proven effective during the first wave of COVID-19. By thus supplementing the system of direct and indirect aid and support measures already in place, the government is expressing its solidarity with the hotel and catering sector in this very difficult period".
