Small firms declare no profit

More than 43,000 single-owner enterprises will fall into the trap of the “presumptive income,” on which they will be taxed for the year 2023 in the new manner that provides for a minimum taxable amount of 10,920 euros, which could reach up to €14,196. However, two more parameters will be activated for the above businesses: payroll and turnover.

According to statistics made available to Kathimerini by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) and the Ministry of National Economy and Finance, of the 43,178 sole-owner enterprises, just over half (22,766) declared losses for the year 2022, 16,445 showed a profit, while 3,967 companies have not filled in the codes of profits or losses.

Among those who declared profits there are sole proprietorships with gross revenues of €1 million and profits of only €10,000. The evolution of the figures (gross revenues and taxable profits) does not differ significantly from year to year. That is, both in 2019 and 2022 sole proprietorships declared similar turnover and profits, while there are also cases with consecutive losses. The AADE figures raise suspicions of tax evasion and for this reason it was decided for them to join the new taxation system.

A total of 43,178 enterprises declared gross revenues of €66.79 billion and taxable profits of €3.16 billion in the last fiscal year. That is, profits make up just 4.7% of gross revenue. 

For single-owner enterprises, the presumptive income will be affected by the number of employees, if any, but also by the turnover. Specifically, in the event that a private-capital company pays its employee the amount of €22,000, the minimum remuneration – taxable income that the professional can declare is €22,000 plus 10% – i.e. €24,200 per annum.

At the same time, the assumed income increases according to the turnover of the business: That is, in the event that the turnover is greater than the average of its activity (KAD) of the previous year, the taxable income will increase accordingly.