The Best of GRReporter
flag_bg flag_gr flag_gb

Greece is to levy corporate tax of 15%

24 February 2012 / 14:02:59  GRReporter
3205 reads

The special commission responsible for the new unified tax system in Greece is considering the introduction of 15% corporation tax. The new tax framework should improve the inefficient revenue policy of the country in the coming years to ensure stability. In addition, reduced tax rates will make the Balkan country much more competitive among its neighbours such as Bulgaria, where corporations and individuals are taxed at a flat rate of 10%.
 
The idea is discussed by representatives of PASOK, New Democracy and LAOS that have to create a new framework of taxation, which has undergone hundreds of changes in the past two years. The parliamentary commission has estimated that the introduction of corporate tax of 15% will give impetus to entrepreneurship, which in turn will boost economic growth. The commission insists that the new tax policy will facilitate the situation of producers and improve their cash flows and will even have a positive impact on the reduction of prices.

The supervisory Troika of the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission have not yet supported the proposal of the Greek politicians. Gaps in implementing the objectives of the economic programme with higher taxation suggest that if the government decreases the tax rate further, the flow of tax revenue will dry up completely. The black hole, which should be filled for 2012 is approximately 4.4 billion euro, the major source of savings being cuts in pensions and healthcare costs. Reducing the corporate tax should go hand in hand with equivalent cuts in budget spending on additional sources so as to not seriously damage the budget balance.
 
Another new idea of the parliamentary commission was the introduction of a uniform 20% tax rate for the income from rented housing. This news prompted a sharp response by society, because it appears that only owners of large and expensive real estate will benefit from the new measure. For them, the introduction of a uniform tax comes as a gift because it significantly reduces their tax liability. Until now, the law stipulated that the property tax rate be calculated on the base of a scale, whereby the more expensive a property, the greater the tax that the owner must pay. The tax rate on luxury homes and expensive real estate reached 25%, while on old and cheap real estate, it did not exceed 18%. The new flat rate will cause serious damage to low-income people in Greece, says tax expert Antonis Mouzakis. He is clear that the uniform tax on rents is devoid of both fiscal and social logic.

To estimate the actual advantages and disadvantages of this measure, the special commission is waiting for the Electronic Tax Register to submit the latest analysis of the data of proceeds. Meanwhile, by the end of the year, the government should increase again the tax value of property by 25% -30% in order to further increase the revenue from taxation of property.

While Greece is still trying to find the right combination of collecting budget revenues and cost cutting, the International Monetary Fund has announced that it will support the transitional period of the country by deferring the payment of the financial assistance for 10 years. The representative of the Fund Jerry Rice said that this will enable Greece to take a breath and regain its strength. It will become clear whether the International Monetary Fund will take part in the second bailout to Greece after the end of the PSI procedure for the exchange of debt with private creditors. "The real dilemma is sacrifices with prospects or no prospects at all," said Minister of Finance Evangelos Venizelos during the discussions about the advantages of the PSI programme for the reduction of the Greek debt. He said the goal of "some people" without naming them is to bring Greece back to the period of the 1950s and to the standard of living in Albania and Moldova, so that those unnamed forces can implement their strategy. He stressed that the European perspective is the only way for Greece and the government will do its utmost to fulfill its commitments.

Tags: EconomyMarketsFlat tax rateGreece
SUPPORT US!
GRReporter’s content is brought to you for free 7 days a week by a team of highly professional journalists, translators, photographers, operators, software developers, designers. If you like and follow our work, consider whether you could support us financially with an amount at your choice.
Subscription
You can support us only once as well.
blog comments powered by Disqus