Taxation eats up 58 pct of firms’ earnings

Almost six in every 10 euros (58 percent) Greek companies earned in the last three years went in taxes, according to a survey by Grant Thornton involving 8,000 Greek enterprises across 92 sectors.

The survey, presented on Tuesday evening, showed that Greece’s high taxation is damaging the most dynamic part of the economy, as just 10 percent of the country’s enterprises pay 84 percent of all corporate taxation.

Data reveal the stagnation in investments, as despite the recovery signs observed in 2016 compared to 2015, the assets of the companies monitored grew by just 1.3 percent, while sales expanded 2 percent and pretax earnings increased 63 percent.

Across the economy one in every two enterprises is suffering from low growth and high borrowing. The funding needs of 4,000 companies are estimated at 16 billion euros, while 1,520 companies – or 19 percent of the sample – constitute examples to emulate as they have seen significant expansion and have a sound financial basis, i.e. low borrowing.