Income tax

Increased taxes for old cars from 2019 was a proposal that trade unions and employers approved on 8thof October at a meeting of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation. The change will be incorporated the tax laws.

The 500-million-euro drop in the income tax demanded from taxpayers after this year's processing of declarations compared to last year's is the outcome of the decline in incomes declared by professionals - following a tough 2017 when they were forced to pay huge social security contributions and taxes.

While the process for the submission of income tax declarations was completed on Monday and Tuesday is the deadline for the first installment, all signs point to revenues being about half a billion euros less than last year.

This year's income tax notification have come as a shock to medium- and high-income taxpayers, but the Finance Ministry is also suffering a shock from the reduced state revenues, coming after a year of 1.4 percent economic growth that ended a series of years of recession for the Greek economy.

Takings from value-added tax, income tax and dues from previous financial years have shown clear signs of fatigue in the first half of the year, leading to concerns among Finance Ministry officials who would shudder to think that last year's problems might be repeated.

The Finance Ministry announced on Tuesday it is extending the deadline for the submission of income tax declarations till next Monday. It will also confirm a special extension for the residents of the wild-fire stricken areas by another couple of months.

The pool of businesses and households in Greece that is being called on to pay ever-increasing taxes keeps shrinking so that 19 percent of taxpayers are responsible for covering 90 percent of the overall income tax.

Accountants are already taking it for granted that the deadline for the submission of income tax declarations concerning last year's incomes will be extended. Sources say it is possible the new deadline will be 30 days later, on July 30, with the following day being the last day for the payment of the first tranche due.

The government has slashed property taxes ahead of the snap June 24 elections, with a new legal package also including a higher income tax exemption for female workers whose children go to a day care center and changes to the special consumption tax for a group of alcoholic beverages.

The Taxisnet online platform for income tax declarations for 2017 incomes opened late on Thursday, after a long delay.

Taxpayers will have to submit their statements by the end of June, and have the option of paying their dues in three tranches, with a July 31 deadline for the first installment.