Laws, Regulations & Policy Greek VAT Scheme Seeking 2.4bn Euros May Take Toll on Tourism by GTP editing team 27 July 2015 written by GTP editing team 27 July 2015 0 comments Share 0FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail 15 The Greek government aims through last week’s decision to implement tax hikes across the board to bring a total of 2.4 billion euros to state coffers in the next 18 months. Tourism, one of the country’s strongest sectors, and its relevant services, is among the mostly targeted, with taxes increasing from 3 percent to 30 percent. Broken down, through the new stringent levy system, the government aims to bring in 160-170 million euros from the hotel sector, 200 million euros from the VAT rate increase on the islands, more than 270 million euros from the food sector — as long as receipts are issued, and 100 million euros from the transport sector, which includes ferry services to the islands. The newly introduced value-added tax (VAT) imposed on all products and services, effective since July 20, includes a 23 percent VAT on basic goods and services, ferry tickets and food-related services. (The VAT imposed on hotels will rise to 13 percent from 6.5 percent as of October 1.) With regard to package deals, according to the directive, a 23 percent VAT rate on food services will be calculated cumulatively from 5 percent to 30 percent on the total price of the package deal, depending on whether it includes breakfast or meals. It should be noted that Greece is ranked fourth among EU countries with the highest VAT rates, after Hungary at 27 percent, Denmark at 25 percent and Romania at 24 percent. Tourism industry insiders are warning that taxing the country’s leading provider may backfire as it makes Greece less competitive against other markets and fails to take into consideration the fact that incoming tourism may drop, which means that if income for Greek tourism business drops so will the government’s expected revenue. Follow GTP Headlines on Google News to keep up to date with all the latest on tourism and travel in Greece. Share 0 FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail GTP editing team This is the team byline for GTP. The copyrights for these articles are owned by GTP. They may not be redistributed without the permission of the owner. previous post Switchfly: Greece Ranks Most Popular Country for Luxury Travel next post Limit Up to 2,000 Euros for Greeks Going Abroad You may also like Greece’s Hotel Market Sees Major Investments Over Four Months 5 February 2025 Greek Tourism Ministry Monitors Santorini Situation as Seismic Activity Continues 5 February 2025 Global Air Passenger Demand Reaches Record High in 2024, IATA Reports 5 February 2025 Greek PM Reassures Public About Santorini’s Ongoing Seismic Activity 5 February 2025 Milos: Ministry Suspends 5-star Hotel Construction Near Sarakiniko Beach 5 February 2025 ELIME and HELMEPA Join Forces for Safer, More Sustainable Greek Ports 5 February 2025 Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ