The Ministerial Decision on the tax incentives for foreigners moving their seat to Greece has been published (The so-called “brain gain” incentive)
The recent Law 4758/2020 established tax incentives to attract foreign employees and the self-employed individuals from abroad, as well as Greeks who left the country during the financial crisis, to transfer their tax residence and work in Greece.
The recent issuance of the Joint Ministerial Decision (JMD 1087 / 15.4.2021, Government Gazette BD 1691) that regulates the procedure and the details of application of the special taxation scheme of income from paid work and business activity for individuals who transfer their tax residence in Greece completes the tax framework for attracting investments and human capital that it was introduced successively with articles 5A, 5B and 5C of the Income Tax Code.
The Decision sets the conditions for inclusion in the provisions of the privileged taxation rate and the required supporting documents. An individual who transfers his tax residence in Greece is subject to the abovementioned tax rate, if cumulatively:
a) he was not a tax resident of Greece in the previous five (5) of the six (6) years before the transfer of the tax residence in Greece
b) transfers his tax residence from an EU member state or by a state with which an agreement on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation with Greece is in force
c) provides services to Greece in the context of an employment relationship exercised either by a domestic legal entity or legal entity or in a permanent establishment of a foreign company in Greece and
d) declares that it will remain in Greece for at least two years.
The concept of permanent establishment of a foreign company in Greece includes the offices of the Law 89/1967, which may employ individuals who transfer their tax residence in our country in order to be included in the provisions of this article.
If the application is accepted, according to the procedure defined herein, the individual is exempt from income tax and the solidarity contribution of article 43A of the CCA for fifty percent (50%) of his income from employment and / or business activity acquired in Greece within the tax year and up to seven years.
Especially, for applications, which will be submitted within the year 2021 and concern the undertaking of service or start-up of a sole proprietorship that took place until July 31 of this year, the deadline submission of the relevant application and the submitted supporting documents is set until 30-9-2021.