Tax relief: How the abolition of presumptions and the change in tax rates will be put into practice

The government is launching a new round of tax cuts with a focus on direct income taxes. The signal was set by the prime minister and the minister of the national economy at the inauguration of the new AADE facilities, stressing that tax revenues will allow for new tax cuts.

“The priority is direct taxes,” sources said, responding to a question about the cuts announced by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, if the goals to fight tax evasion are successful.

According to reports, a de facto change in the tax scale is on the table as, due to rising incomes, many more people now exceed the tax-free threshold. The last intervention in the personal tax scale came in 2019, with the introduction of a low rate of 9% instead of 22%.

However, the revision and gradual abolition of the decimal rates (by 30% in the first phase) is already “on the agenda”, as the reason for their existence is gradually disappearing as the implementation of the new digital “tools” for income cross-checking progresses.

Such interventions will complement the gradual reduction of insurance deductions, which may be extended beyond what has already been announced so far.

Reductions in indirect taxes are not currently on the table. However, intervention in the high VAT24% should not be ruled out.

On the contrary, reductions in the specific tax on petrol, however, should perhaps not be expected, as the international trend – and Europe-wide – is to increase taxes on polluting minerals in order to ensure a green transition by 2030.