The submission of income tax statements for the fiscal year 2013 (i.e. for income received from January 1st 2012 to December 31, 2012) is commencing. According to the current rulings of the Greek Ministry of Economics, the deadline for the submission of income tax statements has been extended for all tax payers to 30 June 2013.

Who should file income tax statements in Greece? Every person, resident of Greece, over the age of 18, regardless of the amount of income that he received or his relevant tax payment obligation.

Foreign residents (like Greek Australians) who are ‘tax-connected’ to Greece, due to the fact that they own properties, receive rents or have any other income in Greece, (no matter the amount of their income) must submit income tax statements (E1, maybe E2 etc).

How is the tax statement submitted? From this year onwards, income tax statements are submitted only electronically, through the official Greek Tax Authority website (taxisnet). In order to use the taxisnet web system, tax payers must first record their personal information at the taxisnet web page, obtain a username and a password; finally, their appointed tax representative must obtain their serial key number (‘klidarithmos’) from the Tax Authority’s department of registry in order for the web account to be activated.

Following this, taxpayers will obtain unimpeded access to past filings and income tax notices and they will be able to submit electronically their current and future income tax statements.

Foreign residents will also have to provide the Tax Authority. along with their income tax statements, with a certificate of tax residence (from the ATO) for the current fiscal year, proving that they are foreign tax residents and that they are duly taxed abroad (in Australia) for their global income. Alternative evidence may apply.

Since the tax statement is submitted electronically, the appointed representative of the taxpayer must submit said tax certificate to the competent tax authority in person.

Your tax representative in Greece (lawyer, accountant, etc) may be appointed from Melbourne through a limited Power of Attorney, properly drafted by any lawyer, entitled to practice Greek Law.

* John Tripidakis is an Australian registered foreign (Greek) lawyer in Melbourne, entitled to practice foreign (Greek) law only.