The tax system reform will continue to be a key part of the New Democracy’s program for the next four years, if it wins the upcoming elections. The Greek government aims to abolish anachronistic methods of determining income, such as the use of assets owned (known as “tekmiria”), while activating ways to safeguard public revenues.
Changes are planned on the taxation of incomes declared by freelancers and the self-employed, with tax evasion reduction based on the interconnection of cash registers with card terminals (PoS) and the extension of the mandatory use of PoS everywhere.
The aim is to reduce cash payments and to increase taxpayers’ use of cards in daily transactions. This way the turnover of businesses and the amount of transactions can be monitored, leading simultaneously to the reduction of the VAT shortfall and the increase of public revenues. In June 2023, therefore, the interconnection of cash registers with PoS will begin, a development that allows the government and the tax administration to abolish “tekmiria” use, for example.
Via electronic audits, online bookkeeping, cross-checking of income and bank deposits, and card usage, tax authorities will then be able to identify real incomes.
This is all part of the tax reforms enacted in 2022 under Greek Finance Minister Christos Staikouras. The finance minister reduced property taxes on a permanent basis as of 2022.
Staikouras last year thanked owners last year for assuming some of the debts from the government’s plan to provide rent subsidies to renters.
The government provided property tax refunds through consolidation of debts or direct deposits totaling 808 million euros. The government was improved the use of public real estate assets, including through reducing tax calculation factors.
On small border islands and in areas hit hardest by natural disasters, the government legislated that the Single Property Tax (ENFIA) be abolished, and reviewed the entire tax calculations for property nationally.
