Greece is working to draw professionals to move to the country and reverse the crisis-era brain drain – and it’s promising that half of their income will be tax-free.
Alex Patelis, chief economic adviser to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, spoke to a number of media outlets including Bloomberg and Reuters. “Technology means we can now choose where we live and work,” he said, regarding the planned law which will offer a hefty tax incentive to workers who move there from abroad.
“A worker from abroad who moves to Greece will be eligible for a 50 per cent exemption on income earned here for seven years under the plan,” Mr Patelis said of the proposed law to be offered in 2021, however it would only be available during 2021 to people who have not been Greek tax residents within the last seven years.
“The main criterion for eligibility for the tax incentive is tax residence,” Mr Patelis said, however added there would be no restrictions on levels of ncome or types of work.
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The new tax incentive is geared towards luring back 800,000 Greeks who left during the crippling debt crisis to pursue careers abroad.
“The coronavirus pandemic has also shown that it is possible in many cases for one to choose where to live and work thanks to technology. We can have digital migrants,” he said.
Greece also hopes the new incentive will be enough to lure people departing the UK in the aftermath of Brexit.
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