Tax office is calling property owners in Greece. 6.3 million owners will have to pay in total 3.153 billion euros in property tax (ENFIA 2017) for the time between September 2017 and January 2018.

The declarations for the so-called Unified Property Tax (ENFIA) were uploaded on taxisnet on Sunday evening, a week earlier than originally scheduled.

Obviously the finance ministry had prepared a cold shower to those holiday makers returning home over the weekend. Instead of payment in six installments, this year Greeks will have to pay the ENFIA in just five installments. No the amount of tax has not been lowered. It’s just that the government and the lenders want the money as soon as possible.

Taxpayers can pay the ENFIA in five installments. There is no discount for those paying one 0ff.

According to data from the Independent Public Revenue Administration:

Taxpayers to pay ENFIA: 6,297,453 natural persons

The total amount to be paid is 3.153 billion euros. 2,6 billion is main property tax, 629 million is additional tax [no idea what this is: arrears from ENFIA 2016?]

1,242,212 taxpayers (natural persons) are being granted a 50% reduction according to income, assets and family criteria. Another 66,236 property owners were granted a 100% reduction, that means they do not have to pay ENFIA at all.

The total amount the state will collect each month from Sept 2017 to Jan 2018 is 630 million euros.

For the taxpayers the total number of rights on properties and land plots is 33,154,815.

50,900 legal entities will have to pay 448,995 million euros. Legal entities rights on real estate is 454,982 and 180,213 on land plots.

The tax office has frozen tax returns for income declaration 2017 (tax year 2016) in order to set the amount of with the payment of ENFIA.

For those not obliged to ENFIA, the tax office has been reportedly returning the additional tax it has cashed.

Deadlines for the payment of ENFIA in five installments are: for 2017: 29. Sept, 31 Oct, 30 Nov and 29. Dec. The last installment is due on 31. Jan 2018.

The tax office charges penalties even if the taxpayer pays the ENFIA one day after the deadline.

For many, the first ENFIA installment coincides with the second installment of income tax payment.

Despite the government promise to scrap the ENFIA, the finance ministry ha snot even managed to take into account the commercial value of properties that have decreased by 40% during the crisis. – At least in urban properties and in areas of not touristic interest.

For example, a property owner in Kallithea suburb of south Athens pays more tax than a property owner on the island of Mykonos, the island of rich & famous where properties can bring higher profit to owners and in short time.

ENFIA is being paid also for first residence with the effect that many owners pay a small ‘rent’ to the tax office in order to be able live in their own home for which they have already paid taxes.

The ENFIA was imposed in 2011 as a temporary measure to increase state revenues. It was initially added to the electricity bills with the effect that millions of Greeks suddenly saw their power bills literally skyrocket to amounts many of them could not afford to pay. The Greek Public Power Company started to massively cut electricity to households they turned debtors to PPC in one night. After the outcry, the finance ministry decided to send the ENFIA on separate tax bills, in 2013. The PPC sent the ENFIA arrears to the tax office.

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