Restoring the VAT rate could bring in an additional 2 billion euros a year, the Ministry of Finance believes

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On Tuesday, Greek Finance Ministry sources said that “closing the VAT gap could generate an additional €2 billion a year.”

Speaking to state news agency amna, sources at the Finance Ministry said anti-tax evasion measures currently underway or already implemented will lead to the identification of undeclared income.

https://rua.gr/news/bissecon/57946-kamery-drony-sputniki-gps-totalnyj-kontrol-ot-nalogovoj-sluzhby-gretsii.html

These measures include, but are not limited to, linking POS terminals to ATMs, pre-filing VAT and income returns only based on income/expenses recorded in MyDATA, expanding the use of POS terminals throughout the market and changes to the taxation of the self-employed.

According to the commission, in 2019 the VAT gap in Greece was 23.4%, a year later it fell to 19.7% and is currently estimated to be around 15%. Based on these calculations, a reduction of 8.4 percentage points would generate an annual revenue of €2.5 billion, of which €2.0 billion comes from VAT and €500 million from higher corporate tax revenues.

The Ministry of Finance intends to further reduce this VAT gap, bringing it closer to the European average of 9%, which means an additional €2.0 billion in government revenue per year.

https://rua.gr/news/bissecon/57946-kamery-drony-sputniki-gps-totalnyj-kontrol-ot-nalogovoj-sluzhby-gretsii.html

The draft budget for 2024 does not provide for additional revenue from the fight against tax evasion. According to forecasts, VAT revenues in 2024 will amount to 24.2 billion euros, compared to 23.1 billion euros this year.

According to the latest data from the European Commission, Greece is among the four countries EU with the best performance in reducing VAT arrears after Hungary, Germany and Holland.

https://rua.gr/news/bissecon/57951-prodlyat-li-snizhenye-stavki-nds-na-transport-kofe-turpakety.html

VAT discount was introduced for food, public transport and some other everyday goods during the pandemic in 2020. Restoring VAT to the previous 24% will first of all raise the cost of already expensive products by at least 12%.

https://rua.gr/news/bissecon/57952-greki-ekonomyat-na-ede-chto-by-oplatit-scheta-za-elektroenergiyu.html

This decision may cause serious discontent in society, especially given the fact that over the past 18 months, food products in Greece have risen in price by an average of 80%, and vegetables and fruits by an average of 150%.

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