Owners group disappointed by tax cut stall
The Panhellenic Federation of Property Owners (POMIDA) expressed disappointment on Thursday over a Finance Ministry decision to indefinitely postpone gradually reducing the new ENFIA property tax for empty properties that do not generate any income.
A day earlier, Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis went no further than to express hope for a gradual reduction of the new tax in the future, as long as the as tax base widens.
The ministry is making revisions to the ENFIA tax, which replaces the so-called FAP tax and a levy paid via electricity bills. Its implementation was delayed several weeks ago after an initial launch produced higher-than-expected tax bills. Revisions being made include shifting the deadline for the first installment forward by a month, to the end of September, and increasing the number of installments available to taxpayers from five, as originally announced, to six. The final details are expected in mid-September. The deadline revision was submitted to Parliament on Thursday.
It remains to be seen whether an ENFIA discount will be offered on properties not connected to the country’s power grid. The issue will be raised at a meeting between the government and the country’s creditor representatives, or troika, in Paris early next month. If, as a result of the measure, annual tax revenue losses do not exceed 50 million euros, the discount may be implemented immediately. Otherwise it will be postponed until a future date.
