Revenues hit as taxpayers are strapped

Taxpayers’ exhaustion from overtaxation is reflected in the significant decline in revenues from income tax, which missed their target by 686 million euros last year. The hole created in the budget was plugged by confiscations and debt settlements that fetched revenues which overshot their target by 639 million euros.

The bulk of the income tax shortfall is attributed to enterprises (497.57 million euros), with the rest concerning individual taxpayers. Revenues from the Single Property Tax (ENFIA) amounted to 3.25 billion euros, against 3.6 billion in 2016, which constitutes a decline of 9.7 percent.

In contrast, takings from taxes and levies on inheritances, donations, parental concessions etc amounted to 152.12 million euros, up from 118.37 million in 2016 – a 31.89 percent rise – as many citizens made property transactions and transfers ahead of the anticipated adjustments of the objective values this year.

Revenues from special consumption taxes on alcohol rose 10.1 percent, from gasoline by 1.8 percent, and from diesel by 25.1 percent. VAT receipts increased from 25.68 billion euros in 2016 to 26.94 billion last year, mainly due to the hike imposed on several Aegean islands.

Source: ekathimerini.com