Professionals and farmers will be taxed from the first euro

Officials at the finance ministry are still working feverishly to devise new ways to increase government revenue, even if the measures passed do not get implemented or do not work, thus resulting in the IMF lifting its confidence in the Greek rescue program and requiring additional corrective measures of 2 billion euros to cover the failures of 2011.

According to information, a group of experts is working on the new tax bill, which will be published immediately after the ratification of the legal instrument on Thursday, and will propose shocking measures such as the taxation of farmers in the same way the self-employed are being taxed, and the taxation of professionals in the way companies are being taxed, at a rate of 20% from the first euro.

The regulations that will affect hundreds of thousands of traders and farmers will relate to the income of 2012 which will be declared in 2013.

According to the same sources, the proposal for farmers includes the elimination of their special taxation status. They will be treated as professionals and will be obliged to keep books and records, issue receipts for selling their goods and will be taxed based on the data in their books.

Reversals are expected in the tax system for freelancers and individual companies. Apart from the objective criteria for determining income, the finance ministry is processing the elimination of their tax exemption limit, with separate income taxation.

Moreover, they are also devising a plan to introduce a new form in the income taxation of individuals, which will control expenses, deposits and revenues.

They are also trying to electronically check the statements for all income and expenditure that will be reflected in specific columns by introducing a new "E10" form: one column will record all income and savings for taxpayers and the other will describe expenses (with receipts) and payments.

The regulation which is being processed by the finance ministry provides for the elimination of the tax-free limit of 5,000 euros for taxpayers with incomes from individual businesses and for freelancers, and independent taxation of their net income at 20%, similar to that applicable to companies.