Reform of Greek tax legislation

On 12.12.2019 Law 4646/2019 was published in the Governmental Gazette according to which key provisions of the Greek tax legislation were amended. Among the most significant changes is the reduction of tax rates of income deriving from salaries, pensions, business activity and dividends. More specifically, corporate income tax rate is reduced from 2019 onwards to 24%, whereas dividends tax is reduced to 5%.

Other important changes introduced by the new law are the suspension of VAT on sale of real estate property until 31.12.2022 under the conditions provided in the amended VAT Code, the addition of exception categories in the special property tax legislation and the amendment of art. 50 of Tax Procedure Code on the liability of legal entities’ directors.

According to the report accompanying the newly enacted law, its purpose is the restart and development of the economy through the establishment of a tax policy which will be fair and attractive for foreign investments.