Ministry of Finance

The Ministry of Finance and the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) plan greater discounts and the unlocking of bank accounts for those taxpayers who pay their taxes or their past debts on time or earlier.

The changes will affect income declarations filed next year.

For the first time this year, the average income tax paid by freelancers surpasses that of salaried employees, who (along with retirees) are usually the tax burden bearers.

Salaried employees remain the “wealthiest” Greeks according to the analysis of data from the 2024 tax returns (income earned in 2023).

Freelancers now occupy the second position, mainly due to the change in their taxation method (imputed income) rather than because they declared higher incomes, with retirees slightly trailing behind.

Housing loans in Bulgaria are expected to remain inexpensive in the coming months, according to a recent survey conducted by the Ministry of Finance. Financial intermediaries, including commercial banks, investment firms, management companies, and pension funds, anticipate that interest rates on loans will stay at their current low levels.

After a record tax haul in 2024, the Ministry of Finance is preparing for yet another all-time high, around €65-66 billion or even higher, in 2025.

The draft 2025 budget will predict tax receipts rising by at least €2 billion. And this time the extra haul will come from income taxes, not value-added tax or special consumption taxes.

Ministry of Finance officials call them "the elephants in the room." They refer to defense and pensions, where increased spending needs severely restrict the margin of maneuver for spending on other items.

A fresh boost to the tax and control of cryptocurrencies is being sought by the Ministry of National Economy and Finance. The ministry’s special task force that had been tasked since February to draft the new framework is being abolished, on the grounds that its remit needs to be changed.

The planned sale of indebted and idle state mining firm Larco has been called off, the Ministry of Finance announced Monday.

Market analysts had long expected the move. It was made inevitable Friday, when GEK Terna and AD Holdings, the consortium chosen to buy Larco's assets and the accompanying mining rights, informed the ministries concerned of its decision to pull out of the deal.

The new medium-term fiscal structural plan being negotiated with the European Commission will set strict spending increase limits from 2025-2028.

The final deadline for the filing of tax forms expired on Friday. Data from just a few days before show that a record amount of income was reported and record taxes assessed on individuals.