New ENFIA property tax decisions

ENFIA changes to be tabled in Parliament on Wednesday or Thursday will allow taxpayers to repay ENFIA in six installments and there will be revisions for 4,000 residential areas around Greece

Conservative New Democracy Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, coalition PASOK Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos and Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis met Tuesday to revise the ne unified property tax (ENFIA) with the aim of launching the tax anew in mid-September following the disastrous first attempt several weeks ago. They decided that taxpayers would be able to repay the tax in six installments and agreed on revisions for 4,000 residential areas around Greece where property owners had been overtaxed but also decided that ENFIA discounts would not be given to people who own vacant property without electricity.

In a nutshell, here are the revisions to be tabled in Parliament on Wednesday or Thursday:

– The government will review the value of land property in more than 4,000 regions around the country, taking into account the previous year’s land values which were cheaper.

– The government will also simplify procedures for any discount or tax exemptions for vulnerable social groups, including the disabled.

– Owners in Kefalonia will be offered an one year tax exemption after the island was struck by an earthquake recently.

– At the meeting, they also agreed that the whole property tax system will be revised to avoid any similar mistakes in the future.

Following the latest revisions, the 2014 ENFIA is worth 3.2 billion euros though the government is hoping to collect 2.64 billion euros. Revisions to thousands of residential areas will also reduce the final amount by 165 million euros.

Speaking to SKAI and REAL FM radio stations, Coalition Government Spokeswoman Sofia Voultepsi said the legislative changes would take place over the next few days. She emphasized that the government would make good its pledge to not increase the total amount of tax on property but keep this the same as 2013 levels. She was also critical of statements made by SYRIZA to abolish the new property tax without explanations as to how they would replace it. “Essentially, they are saying that the second residences – and most Greeks have a second residence, either a holiday home or a house in their village – will necessarily be taxed and obviously taxed excessively in order to make up for the gap from the first residence,” she said.