In its annual report on tax policy reforms, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) provides comparative data on tax reforms across countries.
This year’s edition focuses on tax reforms introduced or announced in 2024 across 86 jurisdictions, including Greece. According to the OECD, Greece’s 2024 tax policy centered on three main areas: social security contributions, property taxation, and the alignment of taxation with environmental and tourism objectives.
In the report, the organization juxtaposes Greece’s tax policies with those of other countries. Many countries have introduced favorable tax provisions for certain types of income or bonuses, the report underlines, while Greece implemented a tax exemption on tips of up to €300 per month.
A small number of countries used targeted VAT incentives to support specific sectors. In Greece, a 22% VAT rate was applied to fees for doctors in public service.
Three countries — Chile, Greece and Peru — introduced tax measures aimed at improving compliance. Greece offered discounts to taxpayers who pay their taxes by the deadline for the first installment. Depending on the filing date, a discount of 2% to 4% can be applied to the total tax due and other certified liabilities.
Greece also made significant revisions to the taxation of the self-employed. It abolished the professional levy on freelancers, adjusted the method for calculating the minimum imputed income of the self-employed by linking it to the salary of the highest-paid employee — thereby lowering taxable income in some cases — and introduced a 50% reduction in imputed income for self-employed individuals living in municipalities with fewer than 1,500 residents.
Greece, like Luxembourg, introduced changes to property income taxation to ease pressure on housing markets. In Greece, a three-year tax exemption was granted on rental income from properties that had previously been declared vacant or were available only for short-term leasing. The government also extended the temporary suspension of capital gains tax on real estate transactions.
At the same time, Greece increased social security contributions for the self-employed by 2.7%.
Like many countries, Greece also moved to stimulate investment and growth through expanded tax incentives. The government strengthened incentives for angel investors to boost funding for startups and innovation, tripling the maximum deductible amount from €300,000 to €900,000 — covering up to 50% of the capital invested in new businesses.
Source: tovima.com
