Tax relief, stronger investment incentives, improved business liquidity, and measures to boost economic competitiveness form the core of the demands that industry and professional organizations are submitting to the government ahead of the announcements the Prime Minister is expected to make from the podium of the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF).
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TIF 2026: Business sector demands to the government — proposals on taxes, investment and liquidity
In ongoing consultations with the economic policy team, market representatives are calling for interventions with immediate economic impact, arguing that businesses need meaningful tax relief rather than broad-based announcements of limited effectiveness.
During meetings with Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance responsible for tax affairs, Dimitris Markopoulos, the Thessaloniki Business Association (SBE), the Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EVETH), the Chambers of Central and Western Macedonia, and other productive sector bodies submitted a joint framework of proposals focused primarily on business taxation. Among the key demands, one that stands out is the reduction of income tax advance payments — currently set at 100% for banks, 80% for other businesses, and 55% for self-employed individuals and sole traders.
According to market stakeholders, this measure would unlock vital liquidity, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises facing heightened financing needs. Also high on the agenda is extending the ability to carry forward tax losses beyond the current five-year limit, allowing businesses that endured prolonged periods of crisis to offset their losses against future profits.
Productive sector bodies are also recommending higher depreciation rates for industrial investments, in order to accelerate the write-off of investment costs and stimulate spending on equipment, technology and production modernization. The proposals package also includes a discount on the Unified Property Tax (ENFIA) for insured commercial properties, as well as new incentives to boost the international outreach of Greek businesses. At the same time, social partners — including GSEE, SEV, GSEVEE, ESEE, SETE and SBE — are calling on the Ministry of National Economy and Finance to raise the daily tax-free meal allowance for employees from €6 to €10, noting that the current threshold has remained unchanged for more than twenty years despite a significant rise in the cost of living.
Similar tax interventions are also being proposed by the Athens Accountants Association, which among other measures recommends reducing the corporate tax rate from 22% to 20%, cutting income tax advance payments, abolishing the business registration levy for legal entities, fully eliminating presumptive taxation for the self-employed, allowing employees and pensioners to deduct rent from their taxable income, and reforming the tax penalty system. The economic policy team is continuing its round of consultations with market bodies, but has signaled that final decisions will depend on available fiscal headroom. As a result, several of the proposals are on the government’s radar, but only those that can be funded without disrupting the fiscal balance required under the new Stability Pact are expected to make it into the TIF announcements package.
