From March 2014, every taxpayer who has a data box will have a tax information box established automatically.
The government bill amending the tax laws adopted by the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament on 8 August 2013 in the third reading also affects the Tax Code. One of the significant changes to be introduced is the new regulation governing tax information boxes.
What is a tax information box?
A tax information box (TIB) is an electronic platform functioning similarly as, for example, Internet access to a bank account. However, the TIB provides you with information not regarding the balance of your account but the balance of your personal or corporate tax accounts. TIBs can be accessed at Daňový portál (in Czech only) and contain information about all your tax obligations so that you do not have to visit the Tax Office in person (such as tax underpayments and overpayments, tax payment schedules, individual personal tax calendar, information regarding bank accounts, addresses reported to the tax administration and filings sent to you or received from you by the tax administration).
Until now, TIBs were only possible after filling in and electronically signing the application for the TIB and the application for access. Access to TIBs is free of charge. However, it has a flaw in that the TIB can be established and used only if you have a recognised electronic signature that is issued by certification authorities for a charge and for one year only.
What the amendment will bring
The amendment should significantly simplify the process in that the TIBs can be accessed not only using an electronic signature but also via data boxes which have been in existence for legal entities free of charge for many years by operation of law. An application to create or terminate a TIB can be also filed without the electronic signature. The tax administration will even be required to create, by virtue of office, a TIB for each taxpayer who has a data box. The TIB must be created immediately after the data box is established. Under the transitional provisions, TIBs are to be opened for existing taxpayers within 3 months of the effective date of the amendment.
