According to Article 2 of Law No 4646/2019, foreign tax payers who have transferred their tax residence to Greece can now benefit from an alternative taxation policy for the income they make abroad.
Conditions:
According to the Greek government’s newest Decisions the Attica Region is classified as a “High Danger Zone”. In view of the strict measures for the prevention of CoVid 19 that will be in force in the area from 3rd to 30th November 2020, KCH Law Firm would like to inform its esteemed clients:
The legislation regarding Golden Visas in Europe has undergone significant changes in 2020.
To be more specific, the most important of those changes took place in Cyprus.
On 29th September 2020 Ministerial Decision No A1217 was published in the Government Gazette of Greece. This decision concerns foreign pensioners who wish to transfer their tax residence to Greece. According to this decision those pensioners will pay a 7% flat income tax for their all of their income obtained abroad. The whole amount of the aforementioned tax will be paid annually in one installment until the end of July.
On the 11th of October 2020, the final form of the notarial certificate that foreign investors applying for a residence permit need to submit along with the rest of the necessary supporting documents was published in the Government Gazette No 4483.
Among other things, this certificate needs to include information about the parties of the contract, information regarding the real estate, the price of the real estate, the means of payment (crossed bank cheque, credit transfer, POS transaction, credit card or debit card) and payment details. This certificate must also specify whether or not the contract is subject to a resolutory condition and whether or not the property was previously used by the seller to acquire a residence permit.
This certificate must be provided by the same notary who wrote the real estate purchase contract. According to Article 20B of Law 4251/2014, in the event that the applicant fails to provide this certificate, their application to be granted a residence permit through the purchase of real estate will be rejected.
Taking the abovementioned into consideration, it is evident that notaries have now a very important role in the issuance of Golden Visas to foreign investors as the approval of their application depends on the validity of this certificate.
Law No 4714/2020 brought important changes favoring donations made by Greek residents who used to reside abroad, as well as parental or monetary donations made by parents, Greek or foreign nationals, to their child for the purpose of buying a property that will be used by the child as their main residence. Those new favorable provisions reflect the numerous efforts made over the years by the Greek government to create a favorable environment for investments and main residence purchases as well as drive the Greek Real Estate market forward. This is all part of a greater effort to increase the country’s economic growth.
Το be more precise:
In order for this tax exemption to be applied it is an essential prerequisite for the parents to prove their donation will be used by the child to purchase property that will be used as the child’s main residence.
It should be noted that the aforementioned provisions do not apply retroactively but take effect after the date the aforementioned law was published in the Government Gazette (FEK).
For more information regarding the supporting documents and written evidence required by the applicants, the monetary sums on which tax exemption is applied as well as the specific dates the aforementioned provisions take effect, please do not hesitate to contact us.
