Finance ministry data shows that 6.35 million taxpayers in Greece will receive a notice to pay their share of a still imposed property tax, known as ENFIA in the country.
Based on the ministry’s calculations, 39 out of 100 recipients of the notice will pay less than they did in 2015; 26 out of 100 will pay the exact amount they paid last year, whereas the remaining 35 percent of property owners – sans farm land, pastures and rural holdings – will pay more. Those called upon to pay more will see a tax bill inflated by a few more euros to increases in the thousands of euros, and despite the fact that objective tax criteria used by the state to assess and tax property have fallen.
The unpopular ENFIA tax was an “anathema” for the leftist SYRIZA party when it was in the opposition, as its top cadres repeatedly promised to abolish it once in power. However, the tax remained and is now a fixture of the current coalition government’s revenue policy.
More burden will fall this year on owners of real estate worth – objectively – more than 200,000 euros, as well as legal entities, mostly businesses. The latter will be called upon to contribute roughly 100 million euros more than last year, as a whole, due to a supplementary tax.
Property taxes reach 3.35 billion euros for 2016, of which the government expects to collect 2.65 billion euros.
