Finally a success story in Greece’s of austerity and loan agreements. The success story does not touch all Greek taxpayers but a selected community of blessed people: Monks and monasteries. They will be exempted from tax payments even if they have revenues.
An amendment introduced by 16 MPs of conservative New Democracy offering tax relief to monks and monasteries was accepted by Education and Religious Affairs Minister Andreas Loverdos on Wednesday.
“According to the new legislation, retired monks will not have to submit a tax declaration if their annual pension is under 9,500 euros. Monasteries will also no longer be obliged to submit a declaration of real estate assets as they are exempt from the new single property tax, nor will they have to pay a rent levy to the state from property they are leasing out. Their tenants will bear the cost instead.
Churches and monasteries will also no longer have to withhold income tax from payments to individuals or companies for services rendered.”(ekathimerini)
In real life, even jobless are asked to pay taxes due to “deemed income criteria”.
Apparently holy monks need more more money to meet their needs than the taxpayer in the secular real life…
PS I assume, the Troika was not asked to approve this ‘loss of revenues’, right?
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