Greece to Offer 50% Tax Cut in Bid to Attract Workers from Abroad

Aiming to bring in investment and stem brain drain, Greece is reportedly preparing a law that will offer tax incentives to professionals who decide to come and work in the country.

In statements to Bloomberg, Alex Patelis, chief economic adviser to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said that Greece is preparing a new law that will see the income tax of people who move their tax residence to the country slashed by 50 percent.

“Technology means we can now choose where we live and work,” Patelis told Bloomberg, adding that Greece “can now offer tax incentives as well as the sun”.

According to the Greek PM’s chief economic adviser, the incentive package will only be available for 2021 and eligible parties will be those who have not been Greek taxpayers for the last seven years. Greeks living abroad and want to return to the country are also qualified for the tax break.

Patelis added that the main criterion for eligibility for the incentive plan is for workers to move their tax base to Greece. There will be no restrictions on income levels or type of work.

“Bringing in foreigners and reversing the country’s brain drain are seen as keys to turning around the country’s performance in the wake of a decade-long debt crisis that cost some 25 percent of economic output,” Bloomberg noted in its report.