Hatzidakis: We will give incentives to open closed apartments

Motivations for opening closed will be introduced by the government,x according to the statements of the Minister of National Economy and Finance, in an interview with Sunday’s Daily Mr. Hatzidakis did not give more details about whether these incentives would be tax but said, “We want to give incentives to owners to increase the offer, particularly small and medium-sized apartments, to meet the needs of the social strata facing greater pressure.” Regarding the forthcoming interventions in short-term lease, the minister said: “We are carefully examining the situation in all individual areas and will intervene in a spirit of justice. Our goal is not to create problems in the short-term lease market, but also not to ignore the effects, especially in Athens.” Responding to a question about the criticisms the government receives of delays and unresolved problems of society, Mr. Hatzidakis stressed: “Greece has escaped the risk and made great progress over the last five years, but it has not become either Switzerland or Sweden. The effort must continue seriously, combining budgetary discipline with a friendly investment policy.” In addition, he categorically stated that “our direction here in the Ministry of National Economy and Finance, as well as the Kyriakos Mitsotakis, are reforms, with speed and determination.” He added that “we promote creativity, investment, innovation, extroversion. Our aim is to pursue a policy that benefits those who need more, and we are not affected by the pressure of the guilds. Our priority is the interests of many defenseless Greeks.” Mr. Hatzidakis, referring to the ITH announcements, stressed that “we will seek to combine three things: to update our policy, responding to modern challenges such as climate change, demographics and housing, to respond to the legitimate demands of society to support those in real need, but also to maintain the country’s positive economic position.” He also made a special reference to the issue of taxation for free professionals, noting that “taxation of free professionals is one of the 11 initiatives we adopted. It is a fair measure against employees and pensioners, a gentle intervention that increases the per capita taxation of free professionals at the level of employees. I cannot accept that as Minister of Finance I will not care for statements that a freelancer lives at 268 euros a month. Such a cynical and clientile perception does not fit either me or the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Free professionals were able to question the presumption, but they only did it a few hundred. That says something. We cannot ignore that we have strengthened education and health from the extra taxes. If we abolish it, where will we get the money?” Relatively sparing was in the upcoming changes in the taxation of free professionals, noting: “We will move on to some point changes, with the main element being the complete abolition of the profession fee, which will lighten freelance professionals by 325 euros a year, and the 50% discount perimeter, which applies to small villages, will also be extended.” With regard to the next steps to combat tax evasion, he stressed that “we are moving forward with MyDATA, where by the end of the year the deviation of 30% in declarations will be zeroed. It will follow the digital shipping bulletin from early December on a pilot basis and universal electronic billing, following the relevant authorisation from the EU Directorate-General for Taxation. Our goal is a digital ADE. At the same time, we continue the fight against fuel smuggling, although sometimes we are surprised by the decisions of certain courts, which we do respect.” This battle bears fruit. Last year, we had 9% additional revenue without raising any taxes, with an important part of it coming from the fight against tax evasion. In 2024, the results will be even more important because of the evidence and connection of cash machines with POS. Already, in the first half, VAT revenue rose by about 10%, with inflation below 3%. This increase is related to the development and use of POS”. Source: RES – ICM