The Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance, Haris Theocharis, spoke in the Parliament regarding the legislation of “Pillar II”, which provides for a minimum rate of taxation of 15% for large companies and harmonizes Greece with international practice. As he emphasized, “today we should all be happy.
We should all be celebrating. Because the legislation of Pillar II is a celebration of the victory of politics over international tax evasion. It is a measure introduced by the New Democracy government, i.e. a center-right government, where social democracy failed.”
Mr. Haris Theocharis further commented that “the essence of the issue is that we live in an environment of unprecedented international tensions, with mega-crises. We live in a climate where all solutions come through the cooperation of states, as all problems exceed the capabilities of any individual country. One of these problems is international tax evasion. In the context of the OECD, Greece was very active and that is why we achieved very important results”.
As the deputy minister explained, “Pillar II” is, in part, a paradox, as the ideal would be to generate no tax revenue: “Not a single euro should be collected thanks to Pillar II. Because if we tax at a rate above 15%, this implies that we are in a better position and we do not need the minimum limit of 15%. If we don’t collect a single euro from this particular tax, that means we collect more than the rest of the taxes.”
With reference to the general picture of the Greek economy and development, Mr. Theocharis pointed out that “inflation in our country in 2023 was below the European average. This fact contributes positively, among other things, to the competitiveness of our country, compared to the rest of the European Union. Also, exports of high-tech products and services – that is, the so-called ‘new economy’ – are increasing. Which is growing at three times the rate in Greece than in the rest of the EU countries, while the domestic industry also attracts capital from abroad, hence the increase. Real investments in absolute numbers have increased in recent years by 40%. The distance that separated Greece from the European Union is slowly but steadily decreasing. We want to close the investment gap”.
Source: newsbeast.gr
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