Greece Plans Property Tax Reforms
Greece’s Alternate Finance Minister in the current caretaker government, Tryfon Alexiadis, has pushed for an overhaul of the controversial property tax ENFIA.
The Single Property Ownership Tax (ENFIA) is widely seen as inequitable and has been deeply unpopular since its introduction on January 1, 2014. Earlier in 2015, the Syriza Government, which is now campaigning for re-election, announced that the tax would not be collected in 2015.
As part of the third bailout deal recently agreed with Greece’s creditors, the tax must be restored. In an interview reported by Greece’s Naftemporiki newspaper, Alexiadis stated that the Government is seeking an agreement to substantially overhaul ENFIA beginning from 2016, including a revision of the taxable base.
He said that the new incarnation of the tax will extend beyond real estate to include other high-value assets and investments offshore. In conjunction with the new requirement that taxpayers disclose details of their assets, to be phased in later this year, Greek authorities are seeking to identify untaxed assets, create a fairer tax system, and encourage the repatriation of offshore holdings, he told the paper.
