Troika in the spotlight, but the smiles go to the off shore companies…

With all eyes trained on the Troika, the ministry of Finance is allowing an extension till the end of the year to off shore company owners, in order to transfer their real estate to individuals and save up to 50% on taxes.  
 
In a decision issued by the deputy minister of Finance, Dimitris Kouselas, the deadline, which expired on October 23, is extended retroactively to December 29, 2010.  
 
Especially in terms of the submission of the special tax on real estate, the deadline is extended to 30/12/2010, whatever the taxpayer’s serial number might be.  
 
This way, the taxpayers who will acquire these properties will pay half the gift or transfer tax. And if the transfer is made to an individual who is the owner of the property, there is an exemption from the proof of purchase. But the real owner of the property, who is behind the offshore company, will be exempted from the annual hike of 15%.  
 
At the same time, as revealed by Proto Thema, the Finance team is thinking of a rate reduction, or an exemption from the onerous 15% tax imposed by the government on the offshore properties, compared to the to the previous rate of 3%.  
 
It will be a retrograde step, dictated by the fact that behind the offshore companies are not just local fraudsters, but also foreigners or Greeks living abroad who have invested their capital in real estate in our country and because of high taxes they threaten the government that they will leave, since they are required to pay more than the overall cost of their investment in taxes for 6-7 years!