On the occasion of the government’s announcements on the new tax measures, 13 scientific and professional organizations met today Thursday and in a joint statement they emphasize that, “with the introduction of presumptive taxable income, freelancers, scientists and small and medium-sized businesses are seriously affected”.

In this context, the professional and scientific bodies decided Nationwide abstinence on Wednesday 11/22/2023.

Furthermore, the agencies express their strong reaction to the promoted tax measures and call for their immediate withdrawal, underlining that “for all of us, this issue is of vital importance for our existence and our dignity”.

Specifically, in their joint statement it is stated:

“The following scientific and professional bodies, after their joint meeting, which took place today at the offices of the Athens Bar Association, issued the following announcement:

The government’s announcements on the new tax measures, with the introduction of presumptive taxable income, hit freelancers, scientists and small and medium-sized businesses, since in the name of supposedly fighting tax evasion, horizontal and therefore unfair measures are being promoted and the practice is being adopted “better few than many, than many than few”.

Taxation based on presumptive income, for income that has not been acquired, not only does not fight tax evasion, since it protects high incomes, which can contribute substantially to the state budget, but leads to the annihilation of a large part of the economically active population, which is the backbone of the Greek economy, the middle class.

The Government shows that it ignores the reality experienced by the majority of freelancers, scientists and small and medium-sized enterprises, after the ten-year memorandum period, the health crisis due to the pandemic, the energy crisis and the increase in prices and inflation.

She seems to ignore the data she has, which prove that a significant part of freelancers, scientists and small and medium-sized businesses is unable to meet basic obligations and has significant debts to the State, Banks, and Insurance Funds. He seems to be unaware that many of them are losing the arrangements they have been put under and are facing prosecution. And they, instead of supporting them in every suitable way, comes to give them the gratuitous shot.

And the worst of all is that all of us, indiscriminately, arrested, are characterized as tax evaders by transferring the “Katrougalou logic” from the insurance to the tax field, without forgetting the recent exorbitant increase in insurance contributions by the current government.

And in addition, the Government, in its attempt to justify the unjustifiable, attempts to identify freelancers, scientists and small and medium-sized enterprises with employees, blatantly ignoring both the recent decision of the Plenary Session of the Council of Ministers 1880 and 1888/2019 and the fact that no these are comparable figures, since they are different categories of salaried employees, they do not have tax-free income nor the deductions and exemptions of salaried employees.

It should be noted that for the determination of the presumptive taxable income, not the net taxable salary of the employee is used, but the gross salary, including insurance contributions, further the presumptive taxable income is added based on the time of practicing the profession on the one hand and on the other cumulatively based on the annual payroll cost and based on a rate when the annual turnover is greater than the average of the annual turnover of the KAD, the latter has the effect of not recognizing incurred professional expenses of the self-employed, a measure profoundly anti-development and enhancing tax evasion.

The invocation, that the evidence is rebuttable, is adaptive, does not stand up to criticism, since any attempts to dispute it, as past experience proves, in the vast majority of cases become futile.

The fight against tax evasion presupposes a substantial dialogue between all entities with the aim of a fair tax system, which will take into account the real conditions of development of the Greek economy and the particularities of each profession and will be based on the contribution of each according to their strengths.

The Government is deploying anachronistic, unfair and leveling methods to fight tax evasion while boasting that it has new control tools at its disposal (indirect control techniques, mydata, connection of cash registers with the Ministry of Finance, installation of POS, etc.).

At the same time that it applies this tax raid on freelancers, it leaves unfired companies and businesses that show losses for many years as well as the large tax evasion on fuel, dividends, capital accumulation, etc.

We express our strong reaction to the promoted tax measures and request their immediate withdrawal.

For all of us, this issue is vital to our existence and our dignity.

We have the obligation to stand by every colleague but also every citizen who is affected by the government’s choices, who is at risk of professional annihilation, who is generally and indiscriminately and unfairly targeted as a tax evader.

We have an obligation to react strongly and massively

In this context, the bodies participating in this meeting have decided to propose to our institutions:

1. The coordination of our action and the formation of a united front against the new measures, with the aim of their withdrawal.

2. The organization of a protest rally on Wednesday 22/11/2023 at 13:00 outside the Ministry of Finance and the declaration of a nationwide abstention from our duties on the same day.

3. The collection of protest signatures of the members of all organizations and their sending to the Prime Minister.

4. Publicizing our positions in any appropriate way.

5. The escalation of mobilizations and the coordination of protest events at a nationwide level, depending on the development of the issue, with decisions of our institutions.

Today’s meeting was attended by:

– Dimitris Vervesos, President of the Plenary Session of the Presidents of the Bar Associations of Greece and Ilias Klapas, President of the Piraeus Bar Association,

– Athanasios Hexadaktilos President of the Panhellenic Medical Association,

– Giorgos Kavvathas, President of the General Confederation of Professional Craft Merchants of Greece (GSEVEE),

– Athanasios Devliotis, President of the Hellenic Dental Federation,

– Yannis Hatzitheodosiou, President of the Professional Chamber of Athens (EEA),

– Menelaos Gardikiotis, President of the Geotechnical Chamber of Greece,

– Pavlos Ravanis, President of the Athens Chamber of Commerce,

– Giorgos Karanikas, President of the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship,

– Athena Trachili, President of the Panhellenic Veterinary Association, Curators of Greece,

– Christos Danias, Member of the Board of the Coordinating Committee of Notarial Associations of Greece (SSEAPAD)

– Nikos Kouyoumtzis, Vice President of the Athens Chamber of Commerce,

– Ioannis Karaboulis, Treasurer of the Federation of Court Administrators of Greece

– Theodoros Barbouris, Representative of the President of the Medical Association of Athens Georgios Patoulis”.