Tax Law

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Tax treatment of dividend in kind

The Greek Income Tax Code (ITC) does not explicitly refer to the case of distribution of dividends in kind or its taxation. The definition of “dividends”, as per article 36 of the Greek ITC includes any income deriving from shares, securities or other types of rights in the participation of profits that do not constitute claims from debts, as well as any income from other corporate rights such as parts, including pre-dividends and numerical reserves, participations in profits of personal companies, distributions of profits from any type of legal entity as well as any similar distributed amount. The distribution of dividends in...

11 Feb 2022

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Special VAT exemption regime for small businesses

The Greek VAT legislation provides for a special VAT exemption regime for small businesses, which is regulated in article 39 of L. 2859/2000-Greek VAT Code, which has been amended since 1/1/2019 in order to improve and simplify the regime as well as fully harmonize it with the EU VAT law. Moreover, Circular E. 2012/2019 was issued communicating the new provisions and giving various clarifications on the regime in the context of the amended article 39. Herein below we provide the main points of the special VAT exemption regime for small businesses: The regime is optional; the new (amended) provisions aim at...

11 Feb 2022

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VAT treatment of educational services

For the assessment of the VAT treatment of educational services (such as teaching and training services), the first step is to determine the place of supply of those services for VAT purposes, based on their nature/classification, the VAT status/capacity of the recipient of the services as well as the way the services are provided (e.g. online). Following the determination of the place of supply, and should this be Greece, the next step would be to examine whether the services could benefit from the VAT exemption applicable to educational services. Should this be the case, even if the place of supply...

24 Nov 2021

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Professional leisure yachts – VAT exemption for purchase/import

The Greek VAT legislation provides for a VAT exemption for the purchase/import of professional leisure yachts in Greece, provided of course that the specific conditions set out by the relevant VAT legislation (as well as by the applicable regulatory framework) are met. VAT legislation In specific, according to article 27 par. 1 case (a) subcase (aa) of the Greek VAT Code (L. 2859/2000), a VAT exemption is provided for the supply (purchase) and import of vessels that are intended to be used for navigation on the high seas and which carry passengers for reward or which are used for the purpose of...

24 Nov 2021

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Private use (self-use) of a professional leisure yacht by the UBO

- The professional leisure yacht needs to be registered with the Registry of yachts of L. 4256/2014. - The professional leisure yacht is used for commercial charters and may also be used privately by the UBO for his private needs. - This private use is allowed by the regulatory framework of L. 4256/2014 and does not change the character of the yacht as a professional leisure yacht. - For the time that the yacht is used privately by the UBO, the VAT and any excise duties on the costs of the yacht are not deductible (e.g. on fuels, repairs, other provisioning etc.) - The...

23 Nov 2021

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Procedure and supporting documentation for application to the Greek Non-Dom taxation regime (Article 5A of the Greek Income Tax Code)

Article 5A of Law 4172/2013, which applies from the 2020 tax year onwards, states that an individual who transfers their tax residence to Greece using this procedure can be subject to an alternative method of taxation for income generated abroad. An individual may join this scheme under the following conditions: if they were not tax resident in Greece in 7 of the 8 years prior to the transfer of their tax residence to Greece and they prove that they invest personally or a relative does so (meaning their spouse and relatives in the ascending or descending line) or they do so...

24 Jun 2021

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Greek tax residence for individuals and legal entities

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According to the provisions of article 4 par. 3 of the Greek Income Tax Code-L. 4172/2103 (hereinafter referred to as “ITC”), “a legal person or a legal entity is a tax resident of Greece for any tax year, provided that: a) it was established or founded in accordance with Greek law, b) has its registered seat in Greece, or c) the place of exercise of the effective management is in Greece at any time during the tax year.”....

27 Apr 2021

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Tax incentives for “angel investors”

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In the context of recent initiatives to render Greece a more investment-friendly jurisdiction for businesses, and particularly for the startup and high-tech digital economy ecosystem, new article 70A of the Greek Income Tax Code (L. 4172/2013), which was enacted by virtue of article 49 of L. 4712/2020 (GG A’ 146), introduces the concept of “angel investors” in Greece and grants them with tax incentives in the form of an income tax deduction equal to an amount of 50% of the capital contributed to startups that are registered with the “Elevate Greece” Startup Platform of the General Secretariat for Research and...

23 Mar 2021

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Tax residence in Greece and special conditions due to COVID-19 pandemic