Independent, annual tax of 7% is provided for retirees who will transfer their tax residence in Greece, from 2021 and for the next 15 years, while employees who also transfer their tax residence will also be subject to favorable taxation for their income from paid employment and from individual business activity arising in Greece. There will be a significant reduction on the income taxation of future investors, who according to the tax bill, will have to make investments worth € 500,000. The above are provided for those that will transfer their tax residence in Greece. Greece’s long-standing goal of becoming an investment hub along with the global pandemic are contributing to an amazing momentum: digital nomads, investors and retirees can enjoy the weather, culture and lifestyle with significant tax benefits. In some cases, such as retirees, Greece has been an almost permanent place of residence for many years, such as in Crete, Rhodes, the Peloponnese and Halkidiki, only now they are offered significant tax incentives to change their permanent residences.
Sun, Sea and low taxation!
Recent legislation has already attracted the interest of many foreign retirees, who weigh the mild climate and lifestyle as the most important and both themselves and their tax representatives are looking for information to relevant tax offices in Greece. Sun, sea and food are now important pillars of quality life for Northern Europeans, and based on this criterion, mainly on the occasion of those tax incentives, they are keen of deciding and proceeding with the big step of relocation.
Greece seeks to earn significant points for successful crisis management at Covid19 along with promoting digital infrastructure and the healthcare system, wants to make the country a top destination for digital nomads by creating a complete package of services that can attract different kinds of investors.
The latter must prove that they invest themselves or a relative of them, or through legal entity in which respectively, they have a majority of shares or stocks of those legal entities based in Greece with an amount of not less than € 500,000.
The process of inclusion to the new tax incentives
The conditions, the procedure and the benefits from the relevant new Tax Law are analyzed in details by Mr. George Kalfas, First Class Tax Accountant and CEO of Atlas Consulting, which will guide us in every step of the process by presenting the opportunities and the key points.
What is the special tax regime for non dom residents and what facilities does it include?
- Investors
In the case of the persons who transfer their tax residence and make the investment, they pay every tax year a flat tax of one hundred thousand (100,000) euros, regardless of the amount of income obtained abroad. The natural person is able to request an extension of the application of that specific tax regime to a relative (spouse and ancestors or descendants in a straight line); in that case a tax equal to twenty thousand (20,000) euros is paid for each relative. The tax is paid every tax year in one (1) installment until the last working day of July.
- Retirees
In the case of persons who transfer their tax residence and are retired, if their application for inclusion in that alternative tax method is accepted, they pay each tax year a tax equal to a rate of seven percent (7%) for the total income acquired abroad. The tax is paid each tax year in one (1) installment until the last working day of July and is not offset by other tax liabilities or any credit balances of the person who has been subject to the alternative method of taxation. With the payment of this tax, every tax liability of the natural person for this income is exhausted.
- Employees and freelancers
In the case of persons who transfer their tax residence and are employed or provide their services with employment status with a sole proprietorship in accordance with the purposes of the Income Tax Code, if their application is accepted, they are exempted by the income tax and special solidarity contribution equal to fifty percent (50%) of the income they earn in Greece during the tax year.
What are the conditions?
Investors
- Not to be tax residents of Greece for 7 of 8 previous years.
- To provide proof that they make the investment by themselves or through a relative of them or through a legal entity that they hold the majority of the shares.
- The amount of investment has to be at least 500.000 euros.
- The investment has to be realized in a period of 3 years from the time that they submit their application.
Retirees
- Not to be tax residents of Greece for 5 of 6 previous years.
- To transfer their tax residence from a country that Greece has signed a tax treaty with it.
Employees | Freelancers
- Not to be tax residents of Greece for 5 of 6 previous years.
- To transfer their tax residence from an EU country or a country with which Greece has signed a tax treaty.
- To offer their service to a local legal entity or legal person or a permanent establishment of a foreign company.
- To declare that they will stay in Greece for at least 2 years.
For any further information and clarifications, please do not hesitate to contact the qualified Atlas Consulting team, ready to provide you with personalised information tailored to your needs and your profile.
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