Still trying to avoid taxation
Bars, hairdressers, restaurants, car repair shops and others declare losses or minimal profit
Some 60% of bar and hair salon owners, 47% of restaurant and car repair shop owners, 43% of veterinarians and 22% of taxi drivers and owners, among other occupations, reported losses for 2023 incomes.
This development essentially activated the new way of calculating incomes and specifically the presumptive way of taxation, which concerns those who declare losses and those who declared very small profits.
According to the data of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), in 2024 the average tax of professionals caught in the presumption system (“tekmiria”) reached 1,733 euros, when a year ago they paid €548 per year.
From Kathimerini’s analysis of the statistics, it appears that freelancers still understate their incomes. In categories such as bar and hair salon owners, the majority of them report losses. And those hairdressers (four out of 10) who declare profits, actually declare that they live on just €358 per month (less than the unemployment benefit). If the presumption did not apply, these occupational categories would continue to pay minimal or no tax at all.
It also appears that the additional tax burden with the new tax calculation system for those who declared profits in previous years and this year is mild. In fact, this year they paid a 50% reduced fee for practicing a profession, which will be abolished from next year. Also next year, the minimum taxable income for 2024 will reach €830, as it is linked to the minimum wage.
It is obvious that the access of the above companies to bank loans and their inclusion in European financial programs becomes difficult to impossible, as they choose not to present their real financial data, showing small profits or losses.
The figures are shocking, even after the change in the way taxable income is assessed and the new audit tools. They demonstrate that very few of those professionals issue receipts, resulting in the shrinking of taxable income. According to government sources, invitations have already been sent to taxpayers with particularly high expenses and incomes below €10,000.
