Taxes...

We Belgians are the champions in paying taxes - and trying to evade them.

Our government taxes labor very highly (up to 50% of your income), while the rich only need to pay peanuts on their shares and (large) interests. If you are just a working person, you don't have to worry a lot. Government knows all! They know exactly what you've earned,

And a couple of years ago, Tax On Web was created. A means to fill in your declaration online. You only need a identity card reader, or a token which you can get from the ministry.

More than 3 million users already, although some people don't know how to deal with it. And I must admit, filling in these declarations is not for the simple of mind. The language used is archaic and the codes change every year. So it's a case of reading carefully and putting the amounts where they belong.

For both my sister and I, filling in the tax form only takes a couple of minutes. Most of the sums are already filled in (what you have earned, gifts, etc.). We only need to fill in the interests we have paid on mortgage and the capital paid off.

And the best thing is, this application allows you to see how much you still have to pay (yes, most of the Belgians have to pay extra afterwards!) or get back - and up to now, we've always been in that last case. It's money you didn't expect, so you can use it to do something you like.