Greece Investment Immigration focuses on life in Greece: Greek Deputy Finance Minister Giorgos Mavraganis stated on Thursday that the authorities plan to reduce the rate of the emergency property tax, which is currently collected in conjunction with electricity bills, to alleviate the burden on debt-ridden households.
Giorgos Mavraganis said in the Greek Parliament, "We are looking for ways to reduce the burden on the Greek people and have made the decision to lower the emergency property tax rate."
This emergency property tax policy was proposed in September 2011 and passed by a narrow majority in the Greek Parliament on the 27th of that month. With the exception of those exempted, it was levied on approximately 5.5 million property owners in Greece, accounting for roughly 80% of total households. The introduction of this new tax sparked great controversy in Greece, and the "one-size-fits-all" approach to taxation caused significant public anger.
Reports indicate that under strong pressure from the "Troika," the Greek coalition government has decided to extend the emergency property tax, currently bundled with electricity bills, for another year to increase necessary fiscal revenue, though the name of the tax will be changed in practice. Meanwhile, the modified property tax will remain bundled with electricity bills, but this practice will be limited to this year; starting in 2014, the tax will be collected by the tax authorities.
Giorgos Mavraganis also stated that citizens who have not paid the emergency property tax are not at risk of having their electricity supply cut off. He expects the Greek government to officially announce the new collection policy for the emergency property tax in the coming days.