The new establishments of sole proprietorships during the second quarter of 2025 stood at the highest level of the last years, and certainly higher even compared to the period before the introduction of the “minimum imputed income.”
With 23,864 new sole proprietorships, the previous record of 20,795 openings, recorded in the second quarter of last year, was also broken. Behind this professional choice lies both the excessive burden on salaried employment in Greece and the significant tax advantage that sole proprietorships enjoy through the recognition of business expenses.
It is estimated that the possibility of continuing professional activity after retirement has also given impetus to the start-ups. The majority of those who remain in the market choose the sole proprietorship solution due to lower administrative and tax costs.
The picture for the entire business activity is revealing. According to ELSTAT data, in the second quarter of 2025, new business registrations amounted to 35,150, recording an increase of 11.6% compared to the corresponding quarter of 2024, when they had reached 31,489. Compared to the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 4.8% was observed, as then registrations had reached 36,909. The trend, however, remains clearly upward on an annual basis, which confirms that business interest is strengthening, despite the stricter tax and insurance framework. Business bankruptcies amounted to 60, a number increased by 30.4% compared to last year, however, the absolute size remains relatively limited compared to the volume of new registrations.
