By Anna Doga
Less tax revenue and slack effectiveness is one characteristic of Greece’s tax system in comparison with other European Union peers, a study by Athens-based Piraeus Bank showed this week.
The study points to a negative effect from high corporate tax rates in Greece on investers’ confidence and the country’s overall growth prospects.
The tax rate for individuals, nevertheless, is 7.4 percentage points less than the EZ average, whereas the corporate rate is much less.
In terms of numbers, tax revenues in Greece as a percentage of GDP were 39 percent less in 2014, lower by 2.5 percentage points from the Eurozone average. If so-called “solidarity taxes” are removed, then the figure is 35.9 percent of GDP.
Tax revenues as a percentage of GDP are substantially higher (by 5.8 percentage points) in relation to the period before the crisis, with the average in 2006 through 2009 being 33.2 percent. However, that figure is due to the shrinking (by a quarter) of Greek GDP and not in an improvement in revenue collection.
Along those lines, Eurostat reports that that tax revenues in Greece for 2014 have decreased on average by 10 percent when compared with the 2006-10 period.
