The tax man cometh

The tax man cometh. April 15 is an important day in the US. In the Netherlands it is also in the Spring. In Belgium tax day is in June. Taxes are a certainty in any country or culture and it is no different here. In the Netherlands you even know when your post is from the tax office - it is a blue envelope.  

For us the whole situation is rather complicated. We file income tax in the United States and in Belgium since we come from the US but live in Belgium. In both countries we are considered self-employed for the tax law. We are required to pay social security in both countries as well. Thankfully we have help for our US taxes from brothers and sisters who have always been willing to help missionaries. 

I remember when E.B. Dotson was working for brother McCready. Brother McCready did the taxes of missionaries for free, taking away any worries and in this way supporting and encouraging them. E.B. and Jean were our good friends in church (as they are still) and it has been a true blessing to have this weight taken from our shoulders all these years. Tax law is difficult enough as it goes, but it gets even more complicated when someone lives overseas. 

In Belgium we do not have anyone doing our taxes for us, but things are fairly straight forward. We do not have to itemize. We list the value of our house, its measurements and such. For some years we get a digital printout of what the tax office already figured for us. Then we do even less. But the cares of wondering if everything is done correctly remain a concern. 

We always want to make sure that we are doing things as they should be done. As Christians we have a responsibility to make sure that we are an example to those around us. Jesus also told Peter (and Paul told the Christians in Rome) that taxes are not something to escape. So whether they are fun or not, we want to do what is right. 

As we now also are reaching a certain age, we have thought about what we would need to do for retirement. In Belgium retirement age is 67 - and moving higher each year, it seems. We have social security in both countries, but we are not quite sure how the two countries will work with one another. When one looks for answers, the “normal” answers on a FAQ never quite fit our situation. So we will start looking deeper at what needs to be done. 

In the meantime, and as always, we will trust that God is taking care of things. And we will thank our loving Father for brothers and sisters who are willing and able to help us with this kind of information.