Greece: New Property Tax ; Greek Bonds, Capital Gains

From Kathimerini
By Prokopis Hatzinikolaou

"The first payment notices for the new Single Property Ownership Tax will start dropping into the letterboxes of about 5 million owners next month. It will be payable in six monthly tranches.

The first installment of the tax to replace the previous FAP levy and the special property tax tagged on to electricity bills will have to be paid by July 31. The other five are set for the months to follow, ending with the last one that will have to be paid by December 31, 2014.

The new tax will apply for farmland and legitimized buildings for the first time, although agricultural and farm buildings will be exempt".

Also:

Taxation of Capital Gains of Foreign Investors in Greek Bonds: New Law Revoked?

"Late Thursday the Ministry of Finance issued a new statement that it was withdrawing its application circular law. The simple announcement states that "to the Ministry of Finance announced that the 1117 circular of the General Secretariat of Public Revenues indicated in the registration process, tax capital gains from transfers of Greek government bonds by foreign investors, is revoked" (Google automatic translation).

Much confusion.

Investors pull out

Update (English) from Kathimerini

"The Finance Ministry is scrambling to abolish a regulation concerning a retroactive capital gains tax on Greek bonds held by foreigners, following the impact on Greek debt in the market... The regulation provided for a tax of between 20 and 33 percent on capital gains that foreign investors reaped from Greek bonds in the 2012-13 period. When the regulation became widely known via a ministry circular, bond yields started to climb rapidly earlier this week. The ministry issued a statement on Thursday that revoked the circular, in effect rendering the regulation null and void, but this did not appear sufficient to appease investors on Friday, as the 10-year bond yield jumped to 6.96 percent".