Greece’s government has sent out a formal bid to foreign pensioners to shift their tax residence to Greece by offering a single tax rate of seven per cent for their entire taxable income from abroad.
A draft law submitted by the Greek finance Ministry to Greece’s Parliament last week includes a clause allowing for a beneficial tax rate for foreign pensioners. The tax scheme rivals similar laws in effect in other EU countries and will become available to pensioners who are tax residents of Greece for at least five out of the six financial years before their tax relocation to Greece from any foreign country with which Greece has a valid agreement concerning administrative cooperation on tax issues.
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Once a foreign pensioner’s tax residence application to Greece is accepted, they will then qualify for the beneficial rate for the next ten years. Foreign retirees from abroad will pay just seven per cent for any of their finances accumulated from pensions, business activities or other investments.
Greece hopes that retirees will take the new tax incentives into account when choosing Greece as a place of retirement. Until recently, the bureaucracy and tax frameworks have acted as deterrents for those choosing to live their twilight years in Greece despite the mild climate and way of life.
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