Gov’t back to drawing board on 2018 ENFIA

Next year’s Single Property Tax (ENFIA) is evolving into a major problem for the government, as by May it will have to present Parliament with a bill including the new rates, as well as to decide which owners will bear the brunt of the load for 2018.

The adjustment of “objective values” (the property rates used for tax purposes), which must be completed within the first quarter of 2018, is forcing the government back to the drawing board for the ENFIA, as the agreement with its creditors provides for bringing objective values to market prices. This will lead to an increase in the taxable values in low-income neighborhoods and a decline in expensive areas such as the capital’s Voula, Ekali and Psychico.

For instance, objective values are set to rise in Drapetsona and Keratsini in Piraeus from about 700 euros/square meter today to 1,000 euros/sq.m. At the same time, expensive areas will enjoy a drop between 30 and 40 percent. Therefore if the ENFIA rates remained as they now are, residents of poor areas like Drapetsona, for example, would have to pay additional tax of 30 percent, while owners in areas to see a decline will enjoy tax cuts, which is something the government would obviously like to prevent.