Sweeping
tax overhaul
Athens
News, 12 February 2010
>An avalanche of new tax measures unveiled on February 12 stunned Greek
taxpayers unaccustomed to such a sweeping overhaul, one which includes
major changes to tax brackets, new methods of declaring income as well
as incentives for furnishing proof of one’s standard of living.
Following last week’s statement by Prime Minister George Papandreou
that the ruling Pasok would take drastic measures to regain the confidence
of its eurozone partners and creditors, Finance Minister Yiorgos Papakonstantinou
unveiled a tax bill aimed at helping Greece collect an additional 5
billion euros in 2010.
Those funds are expected to go towards reducing Greece’s budget deficit
by four percentage points by the end of the year.
"I believe that our European partners, the markets and, above all,
Greek citizens, are watching the implementation of the programme the
government has announced," Papakonstantinou said during a news conference. "They
are waiting to see whether Greece will really do what it must do. And
we are proving, with our daily actions, that things that we announced
some time ago are becoming reality."
The new measures seek to rally lower-income taxpayers in the battle
against tax evasion by forcing them to collect cash register receipts
for daily over-the-counter transactions in order to raise their tax-free
income allowance.
Citizens will need to produce receipts equal to 30 percent of their
declared income in order to ensure that their first 12,000 euros is
not taxed.
Up to now 12,000 euros was automatically exempted in all income brackets.
However, under the proposed changes, this income tax exemption is to
be cut in half, to 6,000 euros. For 2010 onwards, in order to qualify
for the original 12,000 euro tax break, taxpayers must furnish receipts
totalling 30 percent of their declared income.
Therefore someone declaring 20,000 euros of annual income, in order
to qualify for the 12,000 euro exemption, would have to supply receipts
totalling 30 percent of 20,000 euros, or 6,000 euros.
The measure on receipts is designed to clamp down on tax evasion by
forcing retailers to issue valid cash register receipts for their sales,
as well as allowing tax authorities to randomly crosscheck receipts
with actual sales declared in corresponding VAT returns.
Papakonstantinou said that cash registers would now have to be installed
in all businesses, including gas stations, kiosks, outdoor markets
and taxis.
"Consumers will now be motivated to require receipts for their every
transaction," he said.
But it remains to be seen whether the measure will also be used to
justify a drastic cut in the tax-free income allowance, since a lot
of people - especially among the lower-paid - may fail to collect the
requisite 30 percent of their annual income in receipts. The reason
for this is that major items of consumption are excluded from the incentive
to collect receipts.
Receipts and invoices excluded from the tax-exempt threshold are those
covering expenses that are declared separately as evidence of objective
income (purchase of homes, vehicles or ships), tax-deductible expenses
(insurance, rent, medical costs) and public utility services (including
mobile telephony).
The tax rate on dividend profits has been increased to 40 percent,
while the tax rate on re-invested profits will be reduced from 25 to
20 percent. Currently, distributed profits are only taxed at a flat
10 percent rate.
Other measures aimed at reducing tax evasion include the use of several
criteria for the objective determination of minimum income, including
number of private cars owned, private schooling, summer houses etc.
There will also be harsher penalties for tax offenders, higher tax
rates on real estate owned by offshore companies, measures to reduce
cash transactions in the economy, and the offer of a tax amnesty on
repatriated capital.
All flat tax rates on certain professional groups (ranging from 5 to
20 percent) will be abolished. The 19 percent value-added tax (VAT)
will be applied on hitherto VAT-exempt lotteries, sports betting games
and services provided by doctors, lawyers, notaries and other professional
groups.
Real estate
After the abolition of the special real-estate levy (ETAK), the
system reverts to the annual tax rate on the ownership of
large property. Thus property worth 400,000 to 500,000 euros
would be subjected to a 0.1 percent tax, and the rate would
progressively rise to a maximum of 1.0 percent for homes
valued at more than 800,000 euros.
Real-estate value |
Tax rate |
up to 400,000 |
0 |
400,001-500,000 |
0.1% |
500,001-600,000 |
0.3% |
600,001-700,000 |
0.6% |
700,001-800,000 |
0.9% |
above 800,000 |
1% |
|
Bills
To qualify for a 6,000-euro income tax exemption, the value of
all bills collected until the end of the year must add up
to 30 percent of one's taxable income.
Items included
All purchase transactions for goods and services including taxi
fares, outdoor markets, kiosk purchases.
Items excluded
Utility bills: electricity, water, gas, telephone, cell phone.
Tax deductible expenses: rents, medical expenses, insurance. |
Steep rise in fuel tax
All sectors using fuel will be hard hit by the government bill
tabled in parliament on February 9 for a rise in the special
consumption tax on fuel.
The bill provides for a rise in the final price of unleaded gasoline
by 0.143 euros per liter and that of diesel by 0.06 euros per
liter.
The finance ministry announced on February 9 that the fuel tax
increase is expected to boost the budget revenues by 934 million
euros in 2010 (714 million euros from the rise in the price of
gasoline and 220 million euros from the rise in diesel) "so that
Greece approaches the average taxation in the European Union." Nevertheless,
Greece was not obliged to adjust its fuel taxes to EU levels
before 2013.
The bill also includes special provisions for market oversight
in order to avoid tax evasion and the distortion of the market
with the use of tainted fuels. The problem is that the fuel hike
is expected to push up the prices of basic goods and the production
costs in many industries already affected by the recession. |
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