Tax Law

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Tax treatment of the tax paid abroadfor the tax years before the 1st of January 2014

Pursuant to Article 109 par. 4 and 5 of the previously in force Income Tax Code (Law.2238/1994 - hereinafter "ITC"), the tax paid in advance, the withholding tax and the tax which “demonstrably” paid abroad regarding the income obtained abroad, are considered to be deductable from the total due income tax amount (including the additional tax) in Greece. In no case, the tax paid abroad can be higher than the tax amount which is attributable to such income in Greece. To prove the amount of tax paid abroad, a certification of the state's competent Tax Authority in accordance with Double...

29 Jul 2015

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“Permanent establishment” of foreign undertakings in Greece

According to Article 6 of the Income Taxation Code (hereinafter: "ITC" - Law 4172/2013), as in force, "Permanent establishment" means a specific place of business through which an undertaking carries out all or part of its operations. Moreover, according to the Explanatory Memorandum of the same Law, the concept of "permanent establishment" is used primarily to determine the jurisdiction entitled to impose taxation on the profits of an undertaking according to Articles 3 and 4 ITC, in line with the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) model Conventions for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and all related guidelines. In particular, "permanent...

29 Jul 2015

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Procedure for VAT exemption for the delivery of goods

(Ministerial Circular POL 1167/2013) In accordance with Article 788 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down the provisions for the implementation of the Community Customs Code, the ‘exporter’ shall be considered to be the person on whose behalf the export declaration is made and who is the owner of the goods or has a similar right of disposal over them at the time when the declaration is accepted. The aforementioned “similar right of disposal over the goods” and consequently the completion of export formalities can be exercised and carried out by the seller established in Greece, provided there is sufficient evidence (contract,...

08 Jul 2015

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Update on tax administration and policy in Greece, July 2015

Quite surprisingly, after its election in January, the government did not seek to replace the General Secretary of Public Revenue, Mrs. Aikaterini Savvaidou, a reputable technocrat whose professional career is very distant from its philosophy. However, the fact that she stayed in office may not be a voluntary political decision; it is also due to the commitment of the previous government to establish a rigid political independency for this Secretariat, which for decades in the past had been subject to political intervention. A major (albeit anticipated) change was the appointment of a new deputy minister of finance, Mrs. Nadia Valavani...

26 Jun 2015

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Taxation of benefits in kind under Greek law

Applicable legal provisions A. New Greek Income Tax Code (Law 4172/2013, hereinafter the “ITC”)  Article 12 defines the meaning of the gross income received from salaried work and pensions and clarifies the income cases included.  Article 13 defines the meaning of the benefits in kind and their special types and states how their tax value determined.  Article 14 par.1 defines what is excluded when calculating income received from salaried work and pensions.  Article 60 par.1 defines the withholding tax rate which is applicable for the gross income received from salaried work and pensions. B. Circulars  No. 1219/06.10.2014 provides further details about the...

12 Jun 2015

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The main tax developments in Greece between May 2014 – May 2015

From 1 January 2014, in the middle of an austere budgetary approach, the new Income Taxation Code (Law 4172/2013), which had already been published since July 2013, was entered into force. It is a piece of legislation directed towards the simplification and practical treatment of tax issues, which in its entirety comprises provisions of general formulation, which require further clarifications as to their regulatory object and scope. Thus, from May 2014 to May 2015, in addition to some legislative reforms, numerous circulars of the Ministry of Finance were also published. They are briefly listed below: 1. Value Added Tax (VAT) Code In August...

15 Apr 2015

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Taxation of offices established pursuant to Emergency Law 89/1967 (Law 3427/2005)

Article 2 of Emergency Law 89/1967, as amended by Law 3427/2005 and Law 3752/2009, states that the gross income of such companies from the services they provide, which must necessarily be collected via bank transfers, must be computed by adding a mark-up to all manner of expenses and depreciation, other than income tax (the cost-plus method). The mark-up applied by each company is determined based on the criteria contained in the regulatory decision of the Ministry of Economy & Finance following an inspection by a Committee established by the Ministry, whose members are appointed by the Minister himself. That mark-up is...

06 Oct 2014

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Voluntary support from the ship-owners sector is extended to four years

750 million euro contribution to the economy More than 420 million euro will be contributed to the Greek State funds in the next four years by the shipping industry as a voluntary benefit in addressing the economic crisis. With an amendment that was introduced to the Parliament yesterday, a solution was given to the problem that had been caused by the unconstitutional, as was described, compulsory taxation of the shipping industry for three years, raised with the Article 14 of Law 4223/2013 by the former Minister for Finance, Yiannis Stournaras, and was never implemented. With a new amendment that was introduced to the...

29 Aug 2014

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The general anti-avoidance rules in Greek law – Article 38 Law 4144/2013