‘Luxury coefficient’ in ENFIA

The backbone of the new Single Property Tax (ENFIA), which will be activated next year, will be a single set of brackets and rates that will determine the dues owners will pay for each square meter of real estate in their ownership.

These rates will associates the amount of the tax with the zone rates – whereby the higher the zone rates, the larger the tax dues per sq.m. will be – and after the prime minister’s announcement about the absorption of the supplementary property tax by ENFIA, the government will examine the creation of a new “luxury coefficient” that will mostly burden high-value assets.

After the abolition of the supplementary tax, currently imposed on owners of assets worth at least 250,000 euros in total, there will be a significant benefit for taxpayers given that this will slash dues by some €360 million in total. 

To keep large ownerships paying extra, as is fair, the Finance Ministry may impose additional tax on properties of high value (e.g. worth more than €250,000-300,000 per property). That will be the major change to emerge next year, as instead of burdening those with a sum of properties valued at €250,000 at least, the extra dues will concern those owning properties that separately have a high value.

Given that as of October 1 parents’ gifts to their children worth up to €800,000 will be tax-free, there was the risk of them splitting their assets across the family so that none would exceed €250,000, meaning they would be exempt from the supplementary tax.

Furthermore, the proposal for a luxury coefficient is aimed at preventing the new ENFIA from favoring large ownerships, so in practice most of those currently paying the supplementary tax will face a higher ENFIA as of 2022.

The idea of a single set of brackets and rates for calculation per asset had been the original plan for ENFIA in 2013. However, under the pressure then of deputies from the regions, the supplementary tax was introduced to avoid high taxes on land used for agricultural purposes.