Disincentive for salary jobs

Greece needs good salaried jobs, but continues to promote the payment through the invoices of self-employed professionals, known in Greece as “blokaki.”

With the creation of well-paid jobs currently being a “national goal” and the “brain regain” being the only way forward for a country that is losing 50,000-60,000 people a year from its population due to reduced births, the implementation of a tax system that provides rates up to 44% and maintaining the rate of social security contributions at 36.1% do not help in this direction.

If an employer wants to start cooperation with an executive with a good pay, e.g. 65,000 euros a year, the state will automatically collect an amount of €40,000. If he then chooses to give the same amount through a blokaki, then the amount that the state will collect through taxes and contributions can drop to €15,500.

At whatever level of pay the corresponding comparison is made, the same conclusion always emerges: The disincentive for salaried employment remains strong. Even for an annual salary of €13,000, the state’s share is €5,087 from an employee and €3,502 from the self-employed.