By L. Karageorgos
[email protected]
Hotels in Greece are subject to the second highest business tax rates, compared to the sector's direct competitors in the wider geographical region, with units in France only subject to higher burdens.
The conclusion comes from a study by Grant Thornton, which was commissioned by Greece's relevant hotels chamber.
Another highlight of the commissioned study holds that the average margin for profits by hotels in Greece, after taxes, hovers at a meager 1.52 percent.
According to the chamber, the study was commissioned in a bid to show what the former calls the "unequal tax treatment" of the hospitality sector in Greece, compared to other national competitors, such as Turkey, Croatia, Cyprus, Italy and others.
The study identifies 10 specific direct tax burdens, as well as indirect tax levies (VAT, for instance), a framework, according to the chamber, that negatively affects the sector's competitiveness. Other burdens faced by hoteliers are high municipal rates and a soon-to-be-imposed overnight stay surcharge - one of several austerity measures passed last year by the coalition government to meet memorandum-mandated fiscal targets.
