VAT burden may be lifted for SMEs and self-employed
Hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises, self-employed professionals and workers paid on the issue of invoices could soon be relieved of having to pay value-added tax, as the Finance Ministry has prepared such a proposal for discussion with the country’s creditors.
The plan provides for an annual gross revenues threshold that could range between 10,000 and 25,000 euros, below which companies and the self-employed would not have to collect VAT from customers and clients to be paid to the state.
The International Monetary Fund had previously proposed a 25,000-euro threshold, which if applied would affect some 52 percent of enterprises and self-employed people in Greece. This would mean that not only would they not have to pay any VAT, but they would also be relieved of the obligation of submitting a monthly or quarterly VAT account to the authorities. It would also result in a notable reduction in the price of services and commodities.
If the VAT system revision is approved during the ministry’s negotiations with the country’s creditors, then the new provisions could start applying from January 1, 2015.
