In yet another classic example of one of Luxembourg’s major staffing issues: the tax administration’s workload now exceeds the number of staff.
The Chamber of Deputies agrees that new recruits are required. In addition, the process should be digitised and the offices - spread over 14 locations - should be centralised.
The Chamber’s budget and finance committee was presented with an independent report on Friday, which examined the tax process in detail and provided a clear state of play. The report found that the tax administration requires more resources.
The DP, LSAP, Greens and the CSV all agreed the tax administration deserved more funds, but finding the right staff qualified to cope with complex fiscal matters presents a new issue. The Luxembourg Times paper has often reported on the tax office’s struggles to recruit the desired number of new staff.
Minister of Finance Yuriko Backes used the opportunity to underline the importance of modernising the tax administration, adding this could help make the job more attractive to potential candidates. Green faction leader Josée Lorsché proposed that tax administration employees should be given more opportunities to get another position or task during their career.
CSV MP Laurent Mosar went further and called for the Minister to offer fixed-term contracts to retired officials to temporarily provide relief in tackling the mountain of dossiers. Backes said she would consider the proposal.
More than 8,000 dossiers are waiting to be processed by the tax office, said Mosar.
DP MP André Bauler presented the committee with a graphic depicting the steady increase in files since 2006. The tax office only increased staff in 2015. Bauler asked if today’s staff shortage was still the consequence of fiscal policy set by then-Finance Minister Luc Frieden. Mosar was quick to defend the CSV’s lead candidate, saying it was easy to philosophise in hindsight, but concluded the present situation did not satisfy anyone.
