OUR Hellas with a coefficient of 5%, he takes second place taxation of dividends in the EU according to the OECD. N.D. argues that the rate cut led to an increase in government revenue from this source.

PASOK, for its part, argues that the tax increase is more socially just. As for the taxation of parental allowances and donations, there are countries that do not tax them at all, but there are others where the tax-free limit is much lower than in Greece.

Dividends

In the pre-election environment, a war of statements has broken out on the tax front, bringing to the surface arguments and positions that are internationally the subject of controversy, or at least different approaches. A position in favor of increasing the taxation of distributed corporate dividends, for example, is not only a position PASOK, but also the OECD in the case of Greece, as it developed in its report last January. In addition, the rate cut to 5% by the failed government has put the country at one of the lowest rates in the world. In Europe, the scale is often progressive, with the maximum rate reaching, for example, 30% per Belgium42% in Denmark34% in France28% in Portugalwhile in Ireland is 51%. With a single rate of 5%, Greece is in second to last place in terms of the highest rates, followed only by Latvia And Estonia which are taxed at a zero rate, according to the OECD. The counterargument here is that the reduction in the tax rate from 10% to 5% resulted in a jump in distributed dividends and hence tax revenue despite the rate cut. From 1.5 billion euros in dividends in the period 2018-2019, of which the state received 150 million euros in tax revenues, they grew to 5.6 billion euros in 2020, generating revenues of 280 million euros for the state , and at 4.1 billion euros in 2021, with revenues of 225 million euros.

However, a study by Charles Boisset and Adrienne Marthe, published in the American Economic Review in September 2022, concluded that tax increases in dividends leads to an increase attachments. After examining the increase in the tax on dividends from 15.5% to 46% for business shareholders and their families, they concluded that this measure reduced the distribution of dividends, increased the liquidity of the business and, ultimately, increased their investment. According to the researchers, for every undistributed euro of dividends, these firms reinvested 0.3 euros.

Despite her exaggerations and deliberate misrepresentations, h election confrontation provides an opportunity to shed light on significant economic policy issues that international organizations have repeatedly pointed out in their reports on Greece. The EU, IMF and OECD systematically recommend interventions to correct shortcomings in the tax regime, but without any follow-up, especially after the country withdrew from the memorandums.

A common component of these three organizations’ guidance is the need to limit tax evasion by freelancers. The problem that the government of N.D. set as a priority now, for the next four years.

OECD, IMF, EU encourage self-employed to evade taxes.

The characteristic points of the recommendations of these international organizations of Greece are as follows:

• The European Commission, in its European Semester recommendations last week, stressed the need to broaden the tax base, especially for the self-employed. “Tax compliance could be improved by expanding the adoption of electronic payments, given the latest evidence of a mismatch between low declared incomes and a sharply increased turnover of the self-employed. In particular, it is better to use the information received as a result of electronic payments for targeted professions.”

• The OECD, in its report on Greece in January, welcomed the reduction in the tax wedge, but pointed out that some tax rates, such as those on distributed profits, are currently relatively low. “Taxes on capital and profits are now among the lowest in the OECD.” The agency advocated an increase in the tax on distributed profits to reduce the burden on the middle class. He also called for the abolition of emergency VAT cuts due to the pandemic and the energy crisis. A question that remains open.

• About a year ago, in a report, the IMF opposed the abolition of solidarity levies and further cuts in insurance premiums, arguing that they shift the burden on future generations and are not targeted enough. He also pointed out that further improvements are needed to broaden the tax base and combat tax evasion by the self-employed.

What applies in Europe to parental benefits and donations

From October 2021, the taxation of donations and parental benefits for first-degree relatives (spouses, children, grandparents) has changed. Essentially, taxation was zeroed out as a tax-free cap of €800,000 was set. That is, amounts of money or various assets, such as, for example, real estate, are not taxed if, for example, a father transfers them to each of his children. From the amount of 800,000 euros and above, a tax at a rate of 10% is charged. In fact, this development led to an increase in government revenues, as many owners rushed to take advantage of the new tax system. Significantly, in the first quarter of the year, 24,548 parental benefit declarations and 13,959 donation declarations were filed. In most European countries, tax-free amounts and many exemptions apply to monetary donations as well as real estate donations.

There are significant differences in the taxation of parental benefits and donations across Europe. In some countries there is no tax at all, in others the tax is high and there is no tax exemption at all or the tax exemption limit is lower than in Greece.

According to OECD report For taxation of inheritances, parental benefits and giftspublished in May 2022, most of its member states apply progressive tax rates, a third apply flat rates, and tax rate levels vary widely.

For example, Constitutional Court of Austria July 31, 2008 abolished the main inheritance tax provisions. Since then, there has been no inheritance or gift tax in Austria.

In Greece, from October 2021, the tax-free limit is set at 800,000 euros.

IN Germany gift tax starts at 7% and goes up to 30% for property worth more than 26 million euros.

IN Ireland, the first category of relatives (spouses and children) has a tax-free limit of 335,000 euros. Above this amount, tax is charged at a rate of 33%. For example, if a father donates €750,000 worth of assets to his child, €335,000 will be deducted, while the child who received the donation will pay a tax of €136,950.

IN Italy the context of donations is very close to Greek. Specifically, for the first category of relatives, a tax-free limit of 1 million euros is provided. Above this amount, a 4% tax is charged.

IN Netherlands the tax-free donation limit for first-degree relatives can be up to €106,000, subject to conditions. In particular, the amounts of donations increase depending on the purpose for which they will be used. For example, a cash donation of around €60,000 for education and €106,000 for the purchase of a house is allowed.

At the neighbor’s Bulgariatheir spouses and descendants are exempt from inheritance and gift tax.