She admits, when her accountant presented her with her tax return, Katrine cried. This 55-year-old single mother did not expect such an amount even though she knew she would have to pay after working a lot in recent months. A resident of Oostham, she combined two jobs in the healthcare sector at the height of the coronavirus crisis, as the Nieuwsblad explains. With working weeks bordering on 55 hours, Katrine wanted to support her daughter since she does not receive any pension from her ex who left the country.
Overtime, at work on public holidays, Christmas and New Year at work… “I hoped that as a single mother, I could still provide a good life for my daughter, and perhaps buy my own house a day. I don’t want to sit around and enjoy life,” she says. Yes, but now, taxes have now gone that way. “I had put some money aside. Using an application to calculate taxes, I had added my two gross salaries. The general estimate tended towards 2,000 euros in taxes”. It will ultimately be twice as much: 4,000 euros.
Incomprehensible for Katrine who claims not to have made a fortune by combining her two jobs. “In health care, the salaries are not high and in the hospital, with a temporary contract, I only got the minimum wage,” she explains. Now she wonders why she tried so hard. “I worked in difficult circumstances during the Corona crisis. I got yelled at by embittered and frustrated people, the doctors were on edge, there was a lot of tension, but I persevered. This amount is a punishment. I worked for every euro! I can’t pay that amount, even with an installment plan. I have to rent a house, the energy costs are very high and I have a daughter who will start higher education next year…”
With a tax bill of 4,000 euros to pay, Katrine wonders if it is still worth working. “In hindsight, I would have done better to be lazy. I would then have received an increased allowance, a social rate and other benefits. I want to move forward in life and I work for it. But I wonder if it wouldn’t be better to resign…”
*Assumed first name