OECD takes 2019 tax-free threshold cut as a given

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) appears to consider the reduction of the income tax-free threshold in Greece in 2019 a certainty. However, while the measure has been voted, the government has said it intends to start applying it from 2020.

The OECD interim report on growth states, “Greece has improved tax compliance and reduced the personal income tax-free limit by a third as of 2019.” Unless this is a mistake, the OECD appears to consider certain the reduction of the untaxed annual income from 8,636 euros today to 5,685 euros a year earlier than planned – i.e. from January 1, 2019.

Meanwhile the report recommends the reduction of social security contributions for low-paid employees in the context of containing undeclared labor “in countries such as India, Indonesia and Turkey as well as Italy and Greece, where undeclared labor remains a basic challenge.”