Come the end of September, days and nights are of equal length for the second time in the year. It’s the equinox. Then darkness sets in earlier and earlier each day. This darkness provides insight into the economy. It tells you which companies are still working late at night: the lights are still on for bookkeepers, accountants and tax consultants who are filing tax returns. Even at weekends, their lights are still burning during that period, although this is less noticeable.

But is that still necessary in 2021? Aren’t we going through a complete digital transformation? Is this possible in times when stress management is central, burnout is one of the most important occupational diseases and workable work has become an essential human right? Workable work stands for quality work, according to the government. Work you are passionate about and that allows you to grow. It is work in balance with your private life. It won’t stress you out and it won’t make you sick. A workable job is a nice job that you can keep for a long time.

Don’t ask your bookkeeper, accountant or tax consultant today if he or she has a workable job. You would be rubbing salt in the wound. In the autumn they have to work double shifts and more to get the work done. An outsider might ask whether this has to do with inefficiency rather than obligation. Professionals are supposed to have submitted their returns by early November. That’s more than ten months into the assessment year.

Yet, the idea that they have more than ten months to complete the declaration does not correspond to the reality. Tax-on-web, the online facility used to file the personal income tax return digitally, is not provided before May. Updates to that application keep being sent for several months after that. Adjustments are made with each of those updates, with the result that no final return can actually be submitted. The tax return includes figures from sheets prepared by various government departments. It is not unusual for the government to upload the last sheets at the end of June.

However, no one will deny that the tax society plays a vital role in collecting the country’s revenue. The fact that it is confronted with a veritable laundry list of obstacles leads to understandable complaints: the glitches in the Tax-on-web portal, the government’s appalling communication on these issues, the increased administrative obligations (such as the DAC6 and UBO register), and the converging dates for the quarterly VAT returns, personal income tax returns and annual accounts.

It must be acknowledged, however, that Minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) allowed a collective postponement at the last minute for the personal income tax returns. The same thing happened last year and the year before that. That required a lot of blood, sweat, tears, petitions, parliamentary questions, actions by professional associations, and a great deal of lobbying.

Never before have so few students enrolled in accountancy and tax law. That’s a shame, since every stakeholder benefits from high-quality accountancy. If you are fortunate to count a number cruncher in your social circle, be sure to support him or her during such a stressful period. He or she can use the encouragement. If you are even more fortunate as to be in charge in this country, please think about this problem structurally and as a stakeholder. This will ensure that we stop number professionals from becoming tax collectors. They were hated in biblical times. Everyone benefits from correct figures and professional support. Without them, the last one to leave turns off the light.