The discrimination of untaxed side jobs

I support the decision of the constitutional court to strike down the law that allowed people to do untaxed side jobs. I really think the government should not try to fix a broken system with some cut and paste work, instead they should look for structural solutions.

First of all, one of the main reasons why this law got created was to legalize some of the workers who were working “in the black”. As known, those workers did not pay any income taxes or social contributions to the amounts earned unofficially. So that is of course a problem. Also, they did not have the opportunity to insure themselves during that work. So now with the official tax-free work they could get insurance, so that problem is solved. But the fact that they do not contribute to our society gets tolerated by the government? I really do not see the point of that. If they do not want to pay taxes, they should be willing to accept the risk of not being insured… Legalizing untaxed labor contradicts with our whole governmental system. And yes, it’s quite possible that the cost of sending government agents to control if everything earned is declared is about as high as the tax earnings, but if we lose our principles where is the end… And if you consider the extra government jobs you create, that is an extra injection into our economy, extra tax income, and less unemployment costs…

Another reason why they introduced this is because the administration for a second occupation can be very bureaucratic in Belgium. I do agree with that conclusion, and that new measures to promote entrepreneurship are needed. But there are other options. For example, instead of letting people earn €6000 € untaxed, you could exempt them from doing bookkeeping. Just let them declare the amount earned on their tax form (as they must do now with the untaxed amount too). And tax them on that amount together with their other income. If you want to promote this, you can of course also exempt them from paying social contributions on this as they are already fully covered with their main occupation. Just income tax is already way better than the current system. Or tax them at a flat rate on this amount. Both systems will already be an improvement.

And one last reason against this law is the fact that all the conditions are very discriminatory. You must work 80%, unless it’s in the platform economy. If you earn more than €6000 (at first, for 2020 €6340) you must declare all your income as an independent. So, for example you earn €6339 via Deliveroo you get untaxed. But Deliveroo gives you a bonus of €10, then you can lose over €3000 on taxes. (I know people in that situation…). A better option would be that everybody with a second occupation gets their first 6340 untaxed and is only taxed on money made after this amount has been exceeded. Also, it is not fair that you can work as an employee for a plumber for example, and you can compete with your boss in your free time at much lower rates (untaxed).

So, I really think there should be a structural change instead of fighting the symptoms of our broken fiscal system.

If you want to know more about the decision of the constitutional court, you can check this page: https://www.brusselstimes.com/all-news/business/107809/court-strikes-down-law-allowing-tax-free-earnings-for-odd-jobs/