ATHENS: Crisis-hit Greece’s government was scrambling yesterday to correct errors in a new property tax that forced homeowners to pay vastly inflated sums.
Property owners across the country were in uproar after the values used to calculate the tax increased tenfold compared to last year, while even incomplete buildings were charged the full levy.
One man in the rural region of Trikala was asked to pay €3,900 ($5,200) in tax on a 50-square-metre home, financial website euro2day.gr said.
In parliament, lawmakers from both parties in the ruling government coalition demanded an overhaul to the new property tax.
The association of Greek property owners, Pomida, labelled the new tax “insane”.
Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis admitted the regulations had originally been even harsher. “I took charge of this a month ago and corrected mistakes which you haven’t even seen, affecting some two million people,” he told parliament.
To stem the criticism, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has ordered the finance ministry to revert to last year’s real estate values, state news agency ANA said.
The tax was designed to replace another unpopular property levy introduced in 2011 to enable Greece to meet its EU-IMF bailout requirements.
AFP
