“We want to cut taxes further, not because we want to please, but because we can. Already in 2025 we are proceeding with 12 tax reductions. In 2026 and 2027 we can proceed with further reductions, for two reasons: because Greece, according to the estimates of all international organizations, will have higher growth than the EU average and because the effort to reduce tax evasion continues. Because of the development policy and the tax evasion policy, all those who pay their taxes untouchably will see a lower burden.”

This was pointed out by the Minister of National Economy and Finance, Kostis Hatzidakis, speaking yesterday Thursday at the annual Tax Forum organized by the Hellenic-American Chamber. The minister also highlighted Eurostat data according to which in 2023 Greece had the largest tax reduction in terms of GDP among EU countries, from 42.8% in 2022 to 40.7% in 2023. “Despite the fact that the initiatives to tackle tax evasion leading to more revenue, the growth of the economy and the 60 tax cuts implemented by the government in the last 5 years have led to a reduction in the percentage of taxes in terms of GDP”, said the minister.

He also announced that the bill implementing the initiatives announced for 2025 (among other things, exemption from income tax for closed properties offered for rent, further reduction of social security contributions by one unit, incentives for mergers and innovation) is expected to be put up for consultation next week.

Referring to the initiatives to deal with tax evasion, Mr. Hatzidakis emphasized that for the first time the average employee pays somewhat less taxes than the average freelancer. “We are not naive, we knew there would be reactions. But it is inconceivable to me that the boss at a job should pay less tax than his minimum wage employee. The change that was made brought in revenue in the nature of justice. And those who challenged the system were a few hundred, meaning that the ‘holy rage’ was disproportionate to the appeals that were made,” he pointed out. He also noted the implementation of the interconnection of cash registers with POS, which, despite analysts’ forecasts, not only happened but also exceeded the goals that had been set in the context of the Recovery Fund. “This has contributed to having in the first half of 2024 10.3% more VAT revenue than in 2023, with inflation of 3%. The remaining 7.3% comes from development and tackling tax evasion. We have chosen the difficult but right path and that is why we are getting results,” he said. “From 2019 onwards, the governments of New Democracy and Kyriakos Mitsotakis have made a concerted effort to deal with tax evasion that has not been seen in recent decades.”

In response to a related question, Mr. Hatzidakis referred to the improvement of important quality indicators in the economy, such as:

– The increase in exports that reached 98 billion in 2023, i.e. it was 43% of GDP. In 2008 it was 54 billion. or 22.8% of GDP.

– The qualitative differentiation of exports as the share of goods in the period 2020-2022 exceeded that of services for the first time, while in 2023 the ratio was approximately 50-50. “We are no longer talking only about shipping and tourism,” the minister said.

-The increase in the share of high-tech exports in total goods exports.

-Increasing the participation of industry in GDP by 2 units in the last 5 years, “despite urban myths that industry is in crisis”.

-The increase in the volume of investments which in the last five years was the largest in the entire EU. Investments in the period 2019-2023 increased at constant prices by 53.4% ​​and especially in 2023 they increased at a rate of 6.6%, essentially at the level foreseen by the budget.

“We are not celebrating, nor is the effort over, but these are all important achievements that we should not underestimate. We have every right to be proud of what we have achieved together. As we are proud when an athlete or a scientist succeeds internationally, we should be happy about our collective achievements as well”, concluded Mr. Hatzidakis.