By Circular 1141/23-6-2011 the Ministry of Finance provides guidance for the application of the new regime on the taxation of dividends distributed by Greek companies, in respect to recipients that reside in a state with which Greece has signed a Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation on Income and on capital. The withholdong tax rates provided in the DTCs are in general lower than the current withholding tax rate on dividend payments enacted by Law 3943/2011 (21% for distributions that take place in 2011; 25% for distributions that take place from 2012 on).
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Greek tax residents that acquire interest income from bank accounts abroad, a re required to declare this income in Greece and pay a 10% final income tax. By circular 1145/5-7-2011 the Ministry of Finance clarifies that when taxpayers submit these declarations to the tax authorities, it is not required that they also submit a certified translation of the certificate issued by the foreign bank stating the amount of income derived by the Greek tax resident.
Following a teleconference between the competent ministers of Greece and Switzerland, the two states agreed on the conclusion of an agreement, modeled on the agreements that Switzerland has already entered into with Germany and the UK.
No further details are yet available. Both the agreements Switzerland signed with Germany and the UK however make it easier for the German and UK tax authorities to get information about and revenue from their respective residents that keep bank accounts in Swiss banks. In principle the agreement provides that Switzerland will maintain the bank secrecy and at the same time it will withhold tax that will be paid directly to the Greek tax authorities. The June 2011 edition of Highlights & Insights on European Taxation is a special edition about the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) proposal of the European Commission.
With comments from different specialists. Full text of the new Greek Investment Law No. 3908/2011 (in Greek).
Greece exempts from taxation on the transfer of real property the acquisition of a first residential real property by Greek tax residents and Greek nationals, upon satisfaction of certain requirements.
In a recent decision the Administrative Court of First Instance of Piraeus (Decision No. 48/2010) ruled against the tax authority who denied the tax exemption to a couple of Vietnamese nationals that are permanent residents in Greece. The Court stated that the critical requirement is the tax residence and not the nationality of the person requiring the tax exemption. European Commission, Press Release IP/11/635 of 24/5/2011
Different taxation of casino entrance fees By article 18 of law 3758/2009 an "extraordinary financial contribution" was imposed on individuals with income over 60.000,00 euros. This contribution was challenged by taxpayers who complained that it was essentially a special tax imposed contrary to the constitutional principles of legality and equality. The case was discussed before the Council of State (the Supreme Administrative Court of Greece) that decided to refer the case to its plenary session, raising questions of compatibility of the provisions of article 18 of law 3758/2009 with the Greek Constitution.
Decision of the Greek Council of State No. 693/2011 (in greek). Conference: "TAX TREATY CASE LAW AROUND THE GLOBE", Vienna, 19-21 May 2011.
My presentation concerns a 2010 decision of the Greek Supreme Administrative Court dealing with the interpretation of the Business Profits article of the Greece-Germany DTC. Invitation and programme of the Conference Latest EU tax news - This month in H&I; you can see the May 2011 e-zine by clicking here.
In the May 2011 issue you can also see my comment on the Judgment of the Court of Justice of 20 January 2011 on the case C-155/09 regarding the exemption from transfer tax on first purchase of immovable property in Greece. |
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