The forecast for increase of tax revenues is not based on tax collection measures but on the growth dynamics of the economy that is created by the utilization of the resources of the Recovery Fund, said the Deputy Minister of Finance Apostolos Vesyropoulos, speaking to the Finance Committee of the Parliament, about his budget22.
Mr. Vesyropoulos said that the budget does not provide for the imposition of any new tax or the increase of any existing tax, as was not provided for in the two previous budgets. “On the contrary, a reduction of the tax burden is foreseen”, said Mr. Vesyropoulos and mentioned the reduction of the tax rate for legal entities and legal entities, from 24% to 22% on a permanent basis, the extension of the exemption from the special solidarity contribution for 2022 “a measure that will directly benefit private sector workers, business owners, property owners and farmers”, the increase from 1.10.2021 of the tax-free limit for parental benefits or donations, the reduction of the down payment tax for legal entities and legal entities from 100% to 80% on a permanent basis, the return to 55% from 100% of the advance payment of income tax for business activity, for natural persons, on a permanent basis, from the tax year 2020 .
The Undersecretary of Finance recalled the extension in 2022 of the reduction of insurance contributions by 3 points, the additional tax incentives for electronic transactions of natural persons, the calculation in the medical expenses of the dental and veterinary services paid electronically, the deduction SMEs related to the promotion of the green economy and digitization, the extension of the reduced VAT rates on the tourist package, transport, coffee, soft drinks and cinema tickets for the first half of 2022 , the reduction of the VAT rate in gyms, swimming pools and those dance schools that are not exempt from VAT, from 24% to 13%, from October 2021 to June 2022 and the transfer of the VAT rate for animal feed to exaggerated VAT rate of 6% on a permanent basis.
In the tax relief measures, Mr. Vesyropoulos also reminded that the extension of the suspension of the pay-TV fee, which represents 10% of the total bill, until June 2022, the reduction from 2022 onwards of the rates of the mobile and mobile subscriber fee, is included. prepaid telephony fee at 10%, from 12% to 20% that ranged until today depending on the amount of the monthly bill and the abolition of specific fees for young people up to 29 years old.
As for the return of EFK in diesel to young farmers and farmers-members of cooperatives for 2022, the Deputy Minister of Finance said that it is an initiative that reflects in practice the support of the primary sector by the government and cited data from the National Register of Agricultural Cooperatives and other collective bodies of the Ministry of Development and Food, which show that the total number of beneficiaries will be 176,000 farmers.
In the context of tax measures with a development dimension, said Apostolos Vesyropoulos, the package of tax incentives for collaborations and business combinations is included.
“Our intention remains the further reduction of taxes and the utilization of the fiscal space exists as a priority for this purpose”, said the Deputy Minister of Finance.
In addition to tax cuts, the Undersecretary of Finance pointed out, there are other social cohesion measures such as increasing the heating allowance, subsidizing electricity bills.
In relation to the interventions for the reduction of bureaucracy and the modernization of the tax administration, Mr. Vesyropoulos noted that:
-the out-of-court tax dispute resolution committee was set up, which is fully digitized
-The automation of VAT refund procedures has proceeded. The taxpayer submits his application electronically and within 10 days sees the amount entitled to his bank account, if his case has been judged without control. From June 2021, when the automated VAT refund process started to be implemented and implemented, out of the 8,580 refund applications submitted from July 2021 to early November 2021, 82% of the applications were processed automatically and a total VAT of 3.9 was refunded immediately. million.
-the new digital tax platform was created in AADE which offers upgraded services and the citizen will be able to be informed at any time about his debts, tax refunds, to pay and settle his debts.
-citizens were given the opportunity to immobilize their vehicles electronically and without having to go to the tax office and deposit their license plates. The immobilization of vehicles can also be done electronically.
The budget, in addition to the data of the course of the economy and the fiscal data, reflects the size of the measures of the real economy supported by the government since the beginning of 2020, to deal with the consequences of the pandemic, said the Deputy Minister of Finance. support package to support society and the economy as a whole, households, businesses and workers, reaching € 43 billion in cash and € 31 billion in budget. As Mr. Vesyropoulos said, the support measures in combination with the reductions of the tax burdens, paid off as in 2021, despite the restrictive measures of the first months, more than 2/3 of the recession was covered. “In 2021, not only was the recession reversed, but a growth rate of 6.9% has been recorded so far,” said the Undersecretary of Finance.
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