Confusion
over single property tax ends?
Kathimerini
1 November 2008
The Economy Ministry rushed to dispel property owners' fears that they
would after all be taxed for their primary residence.
Owners of houses valued up to 300,000 euros are exempt from paying
the Single Property Tax for their primary residence, but thousands
of them received notifications suggesting they would have to pay if
they jointly own a house with someone else. Many couples who share
ownership of a house were asked to pay the 0.1 percent levy on the
official value of the property that is used for tax assessment purposes.
The story broke in the press on Thursday and the ministry was yesterday
forced into suggesting that property owners should ignore the notifications
and not pay the tax. Instead, Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis said in
Parliament that taxpayers will be required to submit an official statement
to the tax authorities stating their primary residence.
However, the problem arising from the fact that taxpayers were not
required to specify their primary residence had been noticed long before
the tax assessment began. The ministry had even issued an assurance
that there would be no problem. |