From January 1, 2018, tourists who stay in Greece for more than a day must pay an "accommodation tax". Now a night in a hotel will cost an additional 0.5 - 4 euros, and renting a room or apartment - from 0.25 to 1 euro
1According to government calculations, new tax will bring to the treasury about 80 million euros per year. This is just one of the measures taken by the Greek Parliament in May 2016 to stabilize the country's economy. At the same time, it was decided to raise VAT from 23% to 24%, to introduce a special tax on cigarettes, tobacco and electronic cigarettes. Together with a number of other important initiatives new policy has already given the first results: according to IMF experts, the growth of Greek GDP in 2017 amounted to 1.68%, and in 2018 it will reach 2.5%.
According to government estimates, the new tax will bring in about 80 million euros per year to the treasury.
On the other hand, the new tax caused disapproval of the hotel market participants. Thus, the Hellenic Federation of Hoteliers (HFF) expressed concern that such a measure would not have the best effect on the development of the industry, and asked to limit its effect to the summer period. "This will seriously affect any attempt to expand the tourist season, as room rates are known to be significantly lower in winter," GTP Headlines quoted HFF from the appeal.
Hoteliers protest new tax and predict €435m profit cut and €340m loss to Greek economy
According to analysts at Grant Thornton, the accommodation tax will have a negative impact not only on the hotel industry, but also on the country's economy as a whole: the profit of hoteliers will be reduced by 435 million euros, and the losses of the Greek economy will amount to about 340 million euros, which exceeds the potential profit in four times. According to SETE President Yannis Retsos, the introduction of the fee will lead to an increase in the average cost of living by 5-6%, and for small hotels - by 10%, which will force their owners to bear the costs.
Photo: shutterstock.com 2 In 2017 Greece was visited by a record number of tourists from abroad. According to the preliminary estimates of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO), announced at the international exhibition WTM in London, this number will be about 30 million: 7% more than in 2016. According to statistics published by the Athens Airport, the passenger traffic of international tourists in 2017 increased by 12% compared to 2016.
In 2017, about 30 million tourists visited Greece.
According to the Bank of Greece, the amount of tourist spending from January to September 2017 broke a record of 13.02 billion euros - an increase of 1.24 billion euros compared to the same period in 2016. The average travel duration in these months increased by 1.5%, while the average cost per trip increased by 1.4%.
Indicators grew symmetrically hotel business. According to the Greek Statistical Service (Elstat), the number of nights that foreigners spent in hotels in Greece in the first three quarters of 2017 amounted to 63.1 million - 6.3% more than in 2016. Hotel occupancy also increased: from 54.1% in 2016 to 55.3% in 2017. In general, the turnover of the restaurant and hotel business in the third quarter of 2017 increased by 13.9% compared to the same period in 2016.
Photo: shutterstock.com 3 “It is clear that Greece is heavily dependent on tourism and hospitality, but other cities in Europe are successfully coping with a similar fee,” according to the English company The Hotel Property Team. For example, according to The Guardian, accommodation tax in Berlin, Amsterdam and Cologne is 5% of the room bill, in Paris - from 20 cents to 1.5 euros per person per night, and in Rome an additional charge for hotel accommodation can up to 7 euros per night.
According to the Greek tour operator Mouzenidis Travel, the new tax will increase the cost of Greek tours by an average of 40 euros. “Rather, we are talking about temporary inconveniences, since tourists in Greece are not used to paying a fee,” the Association of Tour Operators of Russia quotes the words of a representative of the company. A number of five-star hotels have said they will not charge tourist tax separately, and will take it to your account.
According to preliminary estimates, the new tax will increase the cost of Greek tours by an average of 40 euros.
An additional fee is unlikely to seriously affect the number of tourists, and because prices in Greece are much lower than in most other European countries. According to AirDNA (the service that processes Airbnb's data), the average rental price in Athens is one and a half times lower than in Berlin, two times lower than in Paris and Rome, and three times lower than in Amsterdam.
The tax will be withheld from all travelers - both organized and independent, who will stay in licensed accommodation facilities: hotels, guest houses, apartments and furnished rooms.
Most of all, the amount of tax will be for those who stay in a 5 * hotel: they have to pay 4 euros per night. For guests of four-star hotels, an additional charge per night will cost 3 euros per room per night, for guests of three-star properties - 1.5 euros per night.
Those tourists who stay in a four-room apartment or apartment will have to pay an additional 1 euro per night. For an overnight stay in hotels of 1 * and 2 * categories, tourists will be charged an additional 0.50 euros, accommodation in three-room apartments will cost the same amount, and 0.25 euros per night will be charged for staying in one or two furnished rooms in an apartment or apartment .
Greek hoteliers and tour operators oppose the new tax, arguing that due to the increase in VAT to 24%, the Greek tourism product has already risen in price this year. To support demand during the low season, there have been proposals to levy the tax only in the summer months so as not to undermine the competitiveness of Greek resorts. However, the Greek government has so far remained adamant: the tax will be and be, regardless of the season.
The last attempt to influence the government was made by the Hellenic Hotel Federation, by order of which it was calculated how much Greece would earn on the new tax, and how much, taking into account the loss of other indirect income, it would lose.
It turned out that in the year the income from the tourist tax will amount to 84 million euros, while due to a decrease in demand, Greece will lose from 340 million to 435 million euros in tourism revenue. The new tax is expected to increase average cost rooms by 1.9%, which will eventually lead to a loss of room profitability by 2.5%.
As emphasized in the study, if hotels take over the payment of the tax, they will either suffer losses or be forced to reduce the quality of service. However, there have already been hoteliers who have decided to pay the resort fee on their own, so that new expenses do not fall on the shoulders of the guests. This mainly applies to expensive 4-5 star hotels.
According to observers, the hotels made this decision in order not to scare away their customers, but sooner or later they will have to include these expenses in their rates. At the same time, the increase in the cost of services for end users will not be sharp, and in fact not noticeable.
If the tax is entirely shifted to the "pocket" of the tourist, then it is likely that he will vote against it "with his feet" and simply go to another country instead of Greece.
It is also noted that the new tax levy will lead to the loss of more than 6,000 jobs in the first year of action.
The Hellenic Tourism Confederation (SETE) agrees that the Greek hoteliers will have a hard time. According to SETE President Janis Retsos, Greece will not feel the consequences of introducing a kind of "resort fee" immediately, but in the "long term" - in 3-4 years.
“The tourism sector will not yet feel the full impact of the new tax in 2018, since many contracts for the next season have already been agreed. But in a few years, when Greece ceases to benefit from the geopolitical situation that has arisen due to the influx of tourists from Turkey and Egypt, there will be problems in Greek tourism,” he said, noting that Greece is already considered an expensive destination compared to its competitors.
Fiscal burden for legal and individuals in the Balkan country as a whole corresponds to the average level for the EU. At the same time, taxes in Greece cannot be considered outside the context of a long-term economic crisis, in which the state has been located since 2008. This crisis is largely due to excessive social spending with insufficient fiscal discipline of the population. As a result, a state budget deficit has formed, amounting to tens of billions of euros. In order to systematically reduce the debt burden to external creditors and bring the budget deficit to the level typical for the EU, in last years some tax increases. Therefore, in the medium term (up to 5 years), significant changes are possible.
Fiscal legislation defines an individual as a tax resident of the republic if one of the following conditions is met:
Income tax in Greece, like in many other EU countries, is calculated according to a progressive grid of rates that differ for each income category. For persons working under an employment contract, its gradation is as follows:
If a person receives income solely in the form of a salary, then he does not need to submit an annual declaration, and the employer makes all fiscal payments for him.
For self-employed persons, a progressive rate is also applied, but with a different gradation for income:
Since a significant contribution to country's GDP is tourism, income tax in Greece is regulated for income from the rental of housing and cars. The basic scale of the tax rate is as follows:
As you can see, the level of the tax burden for such income is the highest, but besides this, there is additional payment for property owners at the level of 1.5% of income from such an asset. If the building has an area of more than 300 m2 or is used for leasing schemes, the tax increases to 3%.
If a real estate purchase and sale agreement is concluded between individuals, a tax liability will arise, the rate of which depends on the following circumstances:
As a result, taxes in Greece for individuals are quite high, given the disastrous state of the economy. For example, the owner of a hotel with an area of more than 300 m2, who earns more than 35 thousand euros per year, will have to give the state 48% of his income only in the form of income tax, not taking into account payments to funds social insurance and other payments. According to the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, in 2015 the republic ranked first in the EU in terms of the level of tax burden on the payroll of workers - 41%
To calculate the main type of fiscal payment for legal entities - income tax in Greece - it is necessary to correctly define the concept of a tax resident of the republic. The jurisdiction of the enterprise is established by the country of location, which in most cases tax authorities treated as the country of incorporation of such a company. At the same time, sometimes a legal entity can be recognized as a resident, which is located outside the republic, but its actual management is carried out from the Greek territory. In any case, the object of this tax is the income of residents received both within the framework of economic territory country as well as abroad. For non-residents, only income received in the territory of the republic is recognized as such an object. Income tax in Greece for legal entities is 26%.
With regard to value added tax in the country, there are three rates:
At the same time, in a number of regions of the country, it is possible to use a tax exemption for VAT, the amount of which is 30% for each of the three possible rates. There is a list of transactions from which VAT is not withheld, but it should be borne in mind that when purchasing goods or services for these transactions, an enterprise cannot automatically deduct input VAT from them to reduce the level of actual fiscal liability when it is calculated at the end of the reporting period.
With regard to tax on dividends, the level depends on the source of their receipt and is therefore classified as follows:
Significant taxes in Greece and in relation to interest income. If a resident issues a loan to another resident on market terms, then 20% will be deducted from interest income for the year.
The duty is applicable only to residents of the state, that is, persons who spend at least 183 days a year on its territory. It is characterized by a progressive rate, which varies depending on the income level of the counterparty.
At the end of the tax (calendar) year, each individual receives a notification of the amount of payment. There is no need to make a declaration. When entering a country with large amounts of cash, you should be aware of the existence of a declaration tax Money in Greece.
WHAT TAXES ARE THERE IN GREECE FOR COMPANIES AND INDIVIDUALS?Withholding tax must be paid by all residents with resident status, interest rate depends on the type of income, no payment is required from internal royalties, from external - 25%.
The payer is any individual, legal entity, government bodies or importers. The tax also applies to private entrepreneurs leading an independent economic activity. To pay the fee, you need to register. The procedure is paid, the cost of the operation depends on the legal form of the payer, the type of services provided or goods sold. There is no maximum contribution threshold.
90% of goods and services are valued at the standard rate. Reduced - 13% - is typical for the supply of mineral water, food, transportation of passengers, the provision of electricity, services of coffee shops, dentistry and other things. Most low interest- 6.5 - is charged from printed publications, medicines, theater tickets and hotels.
When buying Greek real estate, it is mandatory to pay a tax on the transfer of ownership, currently there are two tax rates:
3.09% (instead of 10% as it was before January 1, 2014) on the objects of the primary real estate market that have a building permit issued before January 1, 2006, as well as on the objects of the secondary housing market, regardless of the date the building permit was issued.
24% if the building permit is issued after the above date.
Also, after the acquisition of real estate, the owner annually pays single tax(The Greek Parliament passed the law on the new single tax (ΕΝ.Φ.Ι.Α) of January 1, 2014), this tax is intended to replace the emergency property tax introduced in 2011, which was included in electricity bills (EIBs). The new single tax will be levied on objects owned by both individuals and legal entities, as well as on plots and land plots of farms. In the case of joint ownership, the payment of tax will be proportional to the share of each of the owners of the property. The owner will be able to see the amount of tax on his property on the website tax office by entering the individual code.
The following property rights are subject to the new tax:
In addition, the new fee is imposed on such categories of objects as parking in buildings, closed parking lots, ancillary facilities, and swimming pools.
The single tax on real estate consists of the main and additional. The basic tax is distributed on all types real estate: building, land, farm plots, etc. When calculating it, the location of the object, area, purpose, age of the building, floor and number of facades are taken into account. An additional tax (a kind of luxury tax) is imposed on real estate, assessed value which exceeds 300,000 euros with one owner and 600,000 euros with fractional ownership. The additional tax rate ranges from 0.1 to 1% of the appraised value.
Data for 2013 (Fiscal Year 2014)
b) The income of a private enterprise, except in case (c) of this paragraph, and of members of the liberal professions, shall be taxed according to the following scale:
For initial declaration of occupation starting on 1 January 2013 and for the following three years, in the case of "young" private businesses or new freelancers, the amount tax rate for the first level of income of the above scale is reduced by fifty percent (50%), and the amount minimum income up to 10.000 euros.
c) A tax of 13% is set for private agricultural enterprises. In particular, the declared income from a private agricultural enterprise for fiscal year 2014 (calendar 2013) is taxed under the scale for retired employees.
d) Income from the rental of housing, as well as income from movable property, except in cases where tax withholding is fully met tax liability, are subject to taxation on the basis of the following scale:
The tax rate established in the scale of taxation of employees and pensioners is reduced: a) For incomes up to twenty-one thousand (21.000) euros, the tax is reduced by 2100 euros. If the amount of tax is less than two thousand one hundred (2.100) euros, the amount of reduction is limited to the amount of tax.
b) In the case of income over twenty-one thousand (21.000) euros, the amount of reduction for case (a) will be 100 euros for every thousand euros of income up to the payment of the amount of 2100 euros. In order for the amount of the tax reduction to remain unchanged, the taxpayer must provide checks issued in accordance with the provisions of the Display Rules Currency Operations or, in EU Member States, expenses for the purchase of goods and services made personally, by a spouse or dependent children. The amount of expense receipts that must be submitted is 25% of the individual's reported and taxable income in accordance with the scale in this paragraph. The amount of checks provided should not exceed 10,500 euros. Expenses incurred are accepted only if they are included in the declaration in a timely manner, are calculated jointly for both spouses and are distributed between them, in accordance with the declared taxable individual income according to the scale of this paragraph.
If the amount of checks is less than the required amount, then the amount of tax is increased with a positive difference between the required amount of checks, the highest limit of ten thousand five hundred (10.500) euros and the amount of checks granted, which is multiplied by 22%.
When sorting out taxes in Greece for legal entities, the value added tax (VAT) should be mentioned. This is the most important fee that is levied on all goods and services that exist in the country. Moreover, VAT varies depending on the type of production. At this point in time, the following value added tax is established:
Separate Greek islands (Lesvos, Samos, Skyros) provide significant benefits (up to 30% of total amount VAT).
The following legal entities are subject to tax levies:
In turn, the following legal entities are exempt from Greek fees:
For legal entities in the legal field of Greece, the following tax rates apply.
It must be said that the tax rate is uneven and may vary depending on the region of the country. For example, substantial tax incentives on the islands and resort areas.
Special mention should be made of the fees for dividends accrued on the shares of Greek companies. They are also subject to a substantial fee. So, a citizen is obliged to pay about 10% of the amount of dividends received. And non-residents of the country must pay 26% of the amount of profit received on shares.
Moreover, significant fees are withheld even from interest income. For example, foreign bank issued a loan to a Greek company for a year, and after a specified period, he is obliged to pay 20% of the profits to the Greek state.
Slightly smaller payments are provided for income from deposits and REPO transactions (15% per annum).
All this must be taken into account when purchasing shares or bonds of Greek companies or opening a deposit in a Greek bank.
It should be said that taxes in Greece for non-citizens of the country can also hardly be called humane. And if before 2008 Russians often bought real estate in this country, then a significant increase in the tax burden made the maintenance of apartments and villas by the sea very burdensome.
So everything existing taxes in Greece real estate can be divided into several points.
Since 2014, new legislation has come into effect to replace the emergency tax levy caused by the 2007 financial crisis. And if earlier, a fee of 8-10% was charged for any purchased housing, now it has been significantly reduced.
Before you buy a property, you need to pay a local transfer fee. It is called Φορολογία Μεταβίβασης Ακινήτων. The amount of the payment depends on when the building license was obtained.
If the license was obtained before 2006, then the local fee will be only 3% regardless of the value of the property. You will also have to pay 0.3% of the cost of housing (the so-called city tax).
If a building license has been issued after 2006, then Φορολογία Μεταβίβασης Ακινήτων is subject to VAT at 23%.
This type of payment must be paid upon signing the contract of sale, and only after that the document will be endorsed by a notary. For the work of a notary, you will have to pay up to 1.5% of the transaction amount, and a real estate agency will take a commission of at least 2%.
Taxes in Greece for non-residents on the maintenance of housing must be paid annually. In case of non-payment, serious penalties are inevitable, and in case of ignoring payments, the property may be completely confiscated by court order.
The annual taxes in Greece on real estate (Φόρο Μεγάλης Ακίνητης Περιουσίας) is also progressive and depends on total cost building. It can range from 2 to 16 euros for each square meter, and is multiplied by a coefficient that depends on the age of the building and its location. For the best real estate, the coefficient will increase the fee by 25%.
If the property does not belong to the elite, then the coefficient will increase by no more than 10-12%.
Empty land plots are subject to their own fee from 3 euro cents to 9 euros per square meter.
Also, you will have to pay a municipal fee, depending on the municipality. It is included in the electricity bill and must be paid. As a rule, this the tax burden does not exceed 0.5-1% of the cost of housing.
This type of fee was introduced in 2014. The calculation is carried out according to a rather complex formula, which takes into account the difference between the cost of selling and buying real estate. In addition, a reduction factor (up to 40%) can be introduced, which depends on the period of ownership of the property.
In the vast majority of cases, a non-resident selling a house or apartment in Greece, you will have to pay 15% of the sale amount. Naturally, this actually forces property owners to underestimate its value in the tax return.
The country's top leadership is doing everything possible to increase fees and eliminate the "black" market for rental housing. Since 2014, separate taxes have been introduced in Greece on the rental of any housing for non-residents.
If during the year you managed to get up to 12,000 euros for renting real estate, then 11% of this amount must be paid. But if the rental of real estate brought more than 12 thousand euros, then the tax rate will be 33%.
This must be taken into account when purchasing real estate as a means of investment.
If the owner of Greek real estate decides to donate it or to inherit, he will have to pay a fee to the state up to 40% of its value. The final amount is determined by a special commission and it depends on the amount of the property, as well as on the degree of relationship of the donor.
For example, if a father gives his son a small apartment, the duty will be no more than 5%. And if the donation occurs between two strangers, then the amount of the collection can be maximum.
Even if foreigners do not reside in the territory of the state, they are still required to pay fees for profits received in Greece. Furthermore, foreign citizens is entitled to claim tax benefits and compensations if at least 90% of all income is received in Greece.
Taxes in Greece are standard for the European Union. However, due to the severe financial crisis of 2008 and the subsequent technical default, it was decided to shift most of the tax burden onto the shoulders of the country's citizens.
The strengthening of taxes and fees helped to solve the problem of filling the treasury for short term, but played a cruel joke with the country's authorities. So in 2016, about a third of Greeks simply did not submit their declarations, refusing to pay fees.
Therefore, the reduction of the tax burden is inevitable and will occur in the next 2-3 years.
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