By Akis Tsoufis

With the reduction of the import tax rate to 9% the lower economic strata were favored, pensions are increased from 2022, the tax rates of companies were reduced, the pretension fee for the self-employed was abolished. Everyone got from something except the….famous middle class. For which – and especially for employees – however, it seems the time has come with the Prime Minister admitting from Zappeio that “we can be even more committed to their relief until 2027”.

Given that indirect taxes and VAT are currently not touched (one VAT reduction unit is equivalent to a loss for public funds of €1.5 billion according to Kyriakos Mitsotakis), the prime minister photographed interventions in the taxation scale.

Where the second rate – for incomes from €10,001 to €20,000 – jumps from 9% to 22%. In an assumed reduction of let’s say to 15% we are immediately talking about a tax reduction of €700 which is equivalent to a monthly salary increase of €50 net (for 14 salaries).

The intervention on the scale will “clip” with the further reduction of insurance contributions. The government, in addition to the reduction of one unit from the new year of 2025, also owes another reduction of half a unit that has been announced for 2027.

All this will of course proceed as long as the plan to limit tax evasion, which for the moment has brought spectacular results, bringing revenues to the public coffers by €1.8 billion, with the goal of at least €2.5 billion by the end of the four-year period, also goes smoothly. reduce the VAT loophole to just 9% from around 15% today.

To reach this goal the financial staff is not satisfied with the reasonably expected outperformance of the measures already taken (e.g. the interconnection of businesses with POS was completed at the beginning of the summer, for 2025 it will count for the whole year) but plans 4 more measures that will strengthen tax compliance:

  • Universal declaration of a company’s income-expenses in myDATA from January 1, 2025, that is to say the end of the discrepancies. Currently 9 out of 10 statements are in complete agreement with myDATA data for income and 7 out of 10 for income and expenses.
  • Launch of the Digital Customer Service in January 2025. It will be mandatorily observed by specific sectors of freelancers and professionals. It will be monitored by AADE in real time online, while there will be the possibility of cross-checks and comparisons with similar businesses. The Digital Customer Service will start with industries such as garages, body shops, car washes and car parks and will expand to other industries within 2025.
  • Also, at the beginning of the new year, the implementation of the mandatory application of the Digital Delivery Note will begin. With the Digital Waybill, businesses are required to issue digital shipping documents and transmit their data to the myDATA digital platform. In this way, the tax authorities will have a complete picture of the product in circulation, at all stages of circulation.
  • Approval by the Commission is awaited in order to make the use of Electronic Invoicing mandatory in all sectors of the economy. The aim is to start within the 2nd half of 2025.
  • In “Anendoto” against large-scale tax evasion and smuggling, the efforts of the AADE will be strengthened, the new mixed body of customs and tax officials that will deal with the most demanding cases in the field. The name of this Financial Affairs Control Forces or otherwise D.E.O.S