Greece's Finance Minister Kostis Hatsidakis has defended the introduction of a minimum estimated income for freelancers and the self-employed, based on which they were taxed for the first time this year, telling Kathimerini that it was a "fair measure" to salaried employees and pensioners, who traditionally pay higher taxes.
Figures from the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) for this year show that 400,000 freelancers and the self-employed declared an average monthly income of €268, which appears to justify the minister's decision to impose the measure, despite the criticism it has received.
With the introduction of the minimum presumptive income, the takings of these over 400,000 self-employed people quadrupled to €12,794, meaning they had to pay an average tax of €2,058 from €1,245 last year. Hatsidakis says he "can't accept with complete confidence" that a freelancer lives on €268 a month.
As for the specific changes in taxation, the minister announced an extension of the 50 per cent reduction in presumptive income for taxpayers who are self-employed and live in settlements with a population of up to 500 inhabitants and on islands with a population of less than 3,100 people.
Greece's finance minister tells Kathimerini that the government wants to increase the availability of small and medium-sized apartments to tackle the housing shortage. | BGNES
