On the eve of the vote on the tax reform, which will take place during today’s session of the Plenary of the House of Representatives, all parliamentary parties will attend the proceedings carrying a series of amendments.

Based on the parliamentary alliances that have been formed, it appears that most of the amendments likely to be approved by majority will be those submitted either jointly or separately by DISY, DIKO, DIPA, and possibly EDEK.

These four parties had also participated in the widely discussed meeting chaired by Makis Keravnos at the Ministry of Finance, approximately 12 days ago.

During that meeting, the government adopted proposals and suggestions put forward by these parties, which have since been incorporated into the government bills, with the ultimate aim of forming a parliamentary majority and passing the tax reform package.

As previously reported by Brief, the representatives of the four parliamentary parties who participated in the Ministry of Finance meeting had committed not to submit further amendments, or at least not to approve amendments from other parties, in order for the tax reform to maintain, to a large extent, its neutral character.

DISY intends, among other things, to submit several amendments of a more technocratic nature.

The following amendments are likely to be submitted jointly by the parties that participated in the Ministry of Finance meeting, primarily in cooperation with DIKO:

• Deletion of the provision on taxing “any other income” as part of income taxation.
  The aim of this amendment is to define a specific category of “other income” that would be subject to taxation by the Tax Commissioner.

• Conditional exemption from submitting transfer pricing studies for intra-group transactions.
  According to DISY headquarters (Pindarou), if this amendment is approved, it will result in a reduction of the administrative burden on businesses.

• Increase in capital gains tax exemptions in cases of property sales.
  The proposal includes increasing the exemption to €50,000 for agricultural land, €150,000 for primary residences, and €450,000 for commercial properties.

DISY, DIKO, and DIPA strongly oppose the provision in the relevant bill requiring property buyers to submit a tax clearance certificate, confirming that they have no outstanding tax liabilities. Through an amendment, they will seek the removal of this provision.

• Exemption from taxation of shareholding dilution resulting from an increase in a company’s share capital.

• Introduction of safeguards regarding the lifting of tax confidentiality by the Tax Commissioner.
  Under this amendment, such action would require the approval of the Attorney General.

AKEL will submit an amendment proposing a new tax bracket for incomes exceeding €100,000.

It will also table amendments for:

• Indexation of tax brackets every three years,

• An increase in the tax-free income threshold to €22,500, and

• Adjustment of tax brackets in favour of low- and middle-income earners.

AKEL will further submit an amendment introducing a wealth tax of 1‰ on immovable property exceeding €3 million.

Greens will submit an amendment requesting that, for the purposes of tax allowances, a child be considered dependent until the age of 25.

An identical amendment will be submitted by parties of the governing coalition.

The governing parties, through their amendment, will propose that girls be considered dependents until the age of 23, and boys until the age of 24.

It is noted that the abolition of stamp duty will be a common amendment supported by all parties.

Regarding the amendment to increase the tax-free income threshold to €22,000, which the government accepted following pressure from the four parties that participated in the Ministry of Finance meeting, only AKEL will oppose it, submitting its own amendment for an increase to €22,500.

The Ecologists will also submit, among others, an amendment proposing that sales of primary residences up to €450,000 be exempt from capital gains tax, provided that the loan was performing until December 2022.

It is noted that a joint meeting of parliamentary spokespersons is scheduled for 08:00, in a final effort to achieve convergence on most amendments and avoid prolonged debates during the Plenary session.

During this meeting, the time allocated to each party to present its positions and proposals from the parliamentary podium on the tax reform will also be determined.