Tax

For the first time this year, the average income tax paid by freelancers surpasses that of salaried employees, who (along with retirees) are usually the tax burden bearers.

Salaried employees remain the “wealthiest” Greeks according to the analysis of data from the 2024 tax returns (income earned in 2023).

Freelancers now occupy the second position, mainly due to the change in their taxation method (imputed income) rather than because they declared higher incomes, with retirees slightly trailing behind.

Electronic payment methods and real-time monitoring of expenses and revenue streams have made individuals and corporations more likely to pay their dues in time, data from the Independent Authority for Public Revenue show.

A record 128,000 individuals with a net worth exceeding €1 million are expected to change their country of residence this year, exceeding the previous year's record of 120,000, according to UK-based consultants Henley & Partners.

The Independent Authority for Public Revenue, known by its Greek acronym AADE, demands that its inspectors bring in revenue amounting to five times the cost of inspections. AADE Governor George Pitsilis notes that, while the collection of fines for tax code violations has improved, still only a small percentage of the attested fines is collected.

After a record tax haul in 2024, the Ministry of Finance is preparing for yet another all-time high, around €65-66 billion or even higher, in 2025.

The draft 2025 budget will predict tax receipts rising by at least €2 billion. And this time the extra haul will come from income taxes, not value-added tax or special consumption taxes.

The government has decided to further lighten the burden of social security contributions on both employers and employees by 1 percentage point of salaries, but has not yet decided exactly how.

A draft law that abolishes the Stamp Duty on more than 600 transactions and introduces a Digital Transaction Fee for transactions where the related charge remains, explicitly defined in the law, has been put up for public consultation until Thursday, August 22, 2024, at 11:00 PM.

The main changes include the following:

A new era is dawning for taxpayers’ relations with the Inland Revenue following the organizational transformation of the tax administration, which is being “run” by the ADEA and which puts an end to the DOUs replaced by the KEFODE, the KEFOK, the KEBIS, and the YFIs.

A fresh boost to the tax and control of cryptocurrencies is being sought by the Ministry of National Economy and Finance. The ministry’s special task force that had been tasked since February to draft the new framework is being abolished, on the grounds that its remit needs to be changed.