The Ministry of National Economy and Finance is putting the long-awaited bill to enhance the credibility and attractiveness of the Athens Stock Exchange into public consultation, as part of the broader effort to upgrade the domestic capital market.
The competent bodies must submit their proposals, so that in the next period of time the legislation can be submitted to Parliament and become a law of the state.
The bill is focused on three basic regulations:
Tax and other incentives to attract investors and new companies, the possibility of switching from the Main to the Alternative Market, which offers a “way out” to those companies that wish to remain on the Athens Stock Exchange, without however having to align themselves with the stricter regulations on minimum share dispersion, as well as the institutional shielding of supervisory mechanisms, by recruiting “mystery” customers.
Tax Incentives
Regarding tax incentives, which constitute the most interesting part, the proposed bill provides for the following:
• Expansion of incentives applicable to angel investors and investments in the Alternative Market. This means that an amount equal to 50% of the contribution will be deducted from taxable income (up to 300,000 euros).
• Increase in the deduction of expenses for listing small and medium-sized enterprises on the Athens Stock Exchange. Eligible expenses increased by 100% (with a maximum increase limit of 200,000 euros) will be deducted from the gross income of the enterprises at the time of their realization, for a period of 3 years.
• Reduction from 15% to 5% of the tax rate on interest on listed corporate bonds acquired by individuals – tax residents of Greece. This creates a uniform tax treatment regime for domestic and foreign investors for interest income, regardless of the place of stock exchange trading of the bonds.
What is planned for REICs?
The bill also makes special reference to the legislative framework for Real Estate Investment Companies (REICs), as it provides greater freedom of movement by eliminating unnecessary bureaucratic regulations with the aim of increasing investments.
Strengthening the Capital Market Commission with “mystery shopping”
Regarding the shielding of supervisory mechanisms, the ministry is undertaking a series of initiatives, of which the following stand out:
Additional transparent operating procedures for the Capital Market Commission are being established, based on the best international and European practices.
The supervisory mechanisms (Capital Market Commission and Bank of Greece) are being given the opportunity to carry out inspections of supervised entities with secret customers (“mystery shopping”).
