ENFIA corrections under way
Finance Ministry has already begun assessing cases of excessive hikes of the property tax
The Finance Ministry has already started correcting mistakes recorded in the calculation of this year’s Single Property Tax (ENFIA), acknowledged by the prime minister himself.
“An error has occurred with ENFIA. This is an injustice that will be corrected,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis admitted to the mayor and the residents of the island of Astypalaia last week, when they protested against the excessive “objective values” – the taxable property rates that have inflated ENFIA.
It turns out these are the instructions given to the ministry’s agencies so as to identify all the areas where distortions have been recorded and make the necessary corrections, though possibly at a later date.
True, there are a few cases where real estate values do not correspond to reality. The Ministry of Finance has already started recording the areas where the values – i.e. the zone rates – not only went up, but doubled or tripled compared to the previous rates.
Ministry sources tell Kathimerini that “we are at the stage of investigating and evaluating all cases where there seems to be problems. After the assessment, the way in which the re-evaluation of the zone prices will take place will be decided.”
However, the adjustment of zone rates throughout the country that was completed last year was the first and most substantial reform that has taken place in recent years. This is because until recently the increase and decrease of zone rates was the result of political decisions, despite the fact that the country’s agreement with its creditors required the adjustment of objective values to the commercial sale prices of real estate. This was largely achieved with the new values that came into force in January 2022.
Once the reassessment work of the services is completed, a new round of negotiations will begin with the institutions in order to take new decisions on excessive prices. This means that it may take some time for the changes to be completed.
