Freelancer

Just 260,000 freelancers and self-employed people have so far registered in the system of accepting payments through their account, a service supported by IRIS of DIAS Interbanking Systems SA. The number of registered freelancers falls well short of the total number active in Greece - 1.3 million - and the deadline expires at the end of March.

Increases in the social security contributions of freelancers, the self-employed and farmers are expected to end up at between 3.9% and 4% on an annual basis for next year.

Self-employed} professionals will first have to pay the tax based on their presumed income before requesting an audit from the tax authorities and disputing the amount charged to them.

Freelancers are planning a large protest rally at 1 p.m. on Tuesday in front of Parliament in downtown Athens to voice their opposition to legislation aimed at cracking down on tax evasion. 

The intervention attempted in the taxation of freelancers and the self-employed could find resistance everywhere: Those affected may consider it too high, while salaried employees, who are not able to hide their income, may consider it cowardly, as the income that the self-employed are required to declare is placed at the minimum wage level.

Taxi operators, plumbers and electricians will reportedly be the first professions to be scrutinized by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) to see if their declared income and expenses match their lifestyle.

Those from the above categories who declare expenses of at least twice as much as their income will undergo inspections.

Freelancers and the self-employed are being targeted by the control mechanism, especially those who declare incomes up to 10,000 euros, while at the same time having expenses that are twice as much.

Those who in the previous year presented large discrepancies in their declarations (between income and expenses) will be checked as a matter of priority and the rest will follow.

The package of relief measures announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Parliament this past week as part of his policy statements will be introduced in three stages: this year, 2024, and 2025-2026.

A draft law containing New Democracy's campaign commitments for the elections held May 21 and June 25 is expected to be posted for public consultation this week.

Main opposition SYRIZA was plunged into turmoil almost on the eve of elections after the announcement that one of its senior MPs, Giorgos Katrougalos, would not be running following the backlash sparked by his comments in a TV interview on Wednesday that the party planned, if it were elected, to link insurance contributions to income level for both wage earners and freelancers.

Bulgarians are happier and more satisfied compared to 2018, and the share of those who think that their happiness depends entirely on themselves is increasing. This is shown by a study by the marketing consulting and research agency BluePo!nt, dedicated to the happiness of Bulgarians.

The research was conducted in February this year among the urban population.