VAT to Drop to 13% as of August 1, PM Says
Thursday, 01 January 1970
Prime minister Antonis Samaras said Value Added Tax in restaurant and catering services will be provisionally lowered to 13% from 23% as of August 1, the Athens News Agency reported.
Samaras said he had promoted the VAT reduction with the troika of lenders because businesses and chambers had reassured him it would bring higher revenues to the sector and the state. The prime minister, however, warned that if tax evasion remains high, VAT will again go up to 23%. “However, if it works out, I am sure more reductions in unbearable taxes will follow," the PM added.
The prime minister said that certain measures included in the memorandum would not be introduced in 2014, "which means that there will be no new cuts in pensions and salaries of the armed forces; nor will there be an additional tax of 0,002 percent on business turnover," the news agency added.