The prime minister’s intention to tax large companies that evade taxes, as announced at an event of the Finance Ministry, is welcomed by the Athens Chamber of Tradesmen.
The president of the Athens Chamber of Tradesmen, Giannis Hatzitheodosiou, emphasized in a statement:
“The Athens Chamber of Tradesmen has pointed out before the new tax law was voted on that small and medium-sized enterprises cannot be targeted while large companies avoid taxes. It is not possible for representatives of European institutions to admit that the tax regime in Greece allows very large companies to pay lower taxes through the operation of offshore companies and nothing has been done to date. The state aims to collect approximately 600 million euros with the new taxation of freelancers, while, as the governor of the Bank of Greece has revealed, tax evasion and tax avoidance reaches 10 billion euros.
Therefore we expect to see the government’s intention to ensure the equal distribution of tax burdens. Just as we expect the reduction in tax rates that the government plans to proceed with in 2026 to be implemented earlier. And this is because small and medium-sized enterprises have no more strength. The high tax burdens, combined with the exorbitant increases in energy, have caused a financial impasse for hundreds of thousands of businesses and professionals. Especially if the forecasts for energy costs of 250 euros per megawatt-hour are confirmed, it is certain that a large number of businesses will not be able to pay their electricity bills.”
