Dutch companies still owe the government €5.9 billion in taxes that were deferred during the coronavirus crisis, according to new figures from the tax office.

In the first three months of this year, companies repaid a further €900 million in outstanding debt.

Around 400,000 companies built up tax debt during the pandemic after the government allowed them to postpone payments until 2022. While most have now cleared their debts, some 120,000 companies still owe money and have until 2027 to pay it back. Around 28% of these are currently in arrears.

The tax office expects that some of the money will never be recovered, either because companies have gone bankrupt or have reached a settlement. The cabinet has previously said it expects €3.5 billion of the deferred tax will ultimately not be repaid.