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Victoria Mindova

"The extra property tax adopted this year will not be removed, but it should at least be adjusted to bring real results in the state treasury. What should be removed is the old property tax (ETAK) for the period 2009-2011. It is not possible to impose two different taxes which serve the same purpose on the same object," said particularly for GRReporter the President of the Panhellenic Federation of Property Owners Stavros Paradias.

The organization he represents has found serious irregularities in the formation of the final amount of the tax. "Very often, there is an excess of the estimated square metres, of the price of the residential area per square metre or the percentage for the value of the property tax is wrong." Stavros Paradias stated that one of the most common mistakes is when the extra tax is calculated not on the size of the building itself, but on the total area of ​​the property.

"This type of errors occurs most often in industrial areas where there could be four acres of land and half an acre of building. The tax authorities calculate the tax amount due on the total area of ​​the whole property and the result is crazy amounts that cannot be paid." The expert said that an immediate adjustment of the system is necessary to make the measure a little fairer and to operate.

Now, there is the paradox that when the owners find an error it cannot be corrected. They go to make corrections in the regional tax office, for which the extra tax amount is provided. From there, they say they are not able to help the people and redirect them to the municipality because they have submitted the erroneous data on the property size. In the municipalities, they reply that the tax office is responsible for the tax calculation and they have no right to correct it.

"Such errors occur in the case of industrial, commercial and residential properties. The state should create a normal procedure for calculation and automation of the process. Moreover, a specific procedure for correction of technical errors is necessary. Otherwise, this measure has no chance of working properly. People are confused."

Inflated dimensions in the records of municipalities date back a long time, because citizens pay municipal charges and tax on waste in accordance with the size of the dwelling. Private inspection has showed that more than a few Greek municipalities have overstated the sizes of many properties to enable the municipalities to collect more money in their budgets. These municipal receipts, along with the last extra property tax, are included in the electricity bill of every household. The owners may have established the incorrect data but municipalities have done nothing to correct them. State authorities call first for payment of the extra tax and the difference between the written-up and the actual amount will be paid in the distant future through a balancing account. Property owners in Greece have no great confidence in the public sector when it comes to returning money and therefore, they insist the corrections be made immediately, not after six months or a year.

The Panhellenic Federation of Property Owners has provided information that there are hundreds of cases in which property has been rented, but tenants have not paid their rent regularly. After leaving the house, a large number of bills have remained unpaid. Ultimately, specific costs occur, the building owner does not object to paying them, but does not want to pay the debts for electricity accumulated by the tenant.

"The national electricity company refuses to accept payment only of the tax due without the rest of the unpaid bills, not only because the law does not allow it, but because it is not able to record the differences technically due to limitations in the software it uses," said the President of the Panhellenic Federation of Property Owners. He insists that the state should stop "blackmailing" owners to pay the debts of tenants who have left improperly. Paradias calls for the urgent establishment of a special procedure for direct correction of any clerical errors in the municipalities and for the process to be computerized so as to avoid mistakes and reduce the bureaucracy connected with tax collecting.