The government is raising the tax relief package for the Thessaloniki International Fair to €1.7 billion, prioritizing families with children and security forces personnel. The announcements by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis are expected to bring immediate income relief and strengthen housing supply in the rental market.
According to government planning, the interventions focus on supporting the middle class and families who bore the greatest tax burdens during the crisis years. The total package exceeds the initial “ceiling” of €1.5 billion, utilizing additional fiscal space resulting from the better performance of this year’s budget.
This is the Thessaloniki Fair measures package
In detail:
– Employees and pensioners: More than 2.5 million taxpayers with incomes above €10,000 will see reduced tax burden from 2026. Changes will be immediately visible through smaller withholding from monthly salaries and pensions. New intermediate tax rates are planned, with the introductory 9% remaining unchanged and the maximum 44% applying to incomes above €50,000-55,000.
– Families with children – large families: The tax-free threshold is expected to increase progressively by €1,000-2,000 per child, while for large families, complete tax exemption for incomes of €40,000-50,000 is being considered. Additionally, proposals for reducing property tax (ENFIA) are on the table.
– Property owners: Interventions focus on more proportional distribution of tax burdens on rental income, aiming to provide incentives for declaring actual rents and freeing up thousands of closed properties. Two scenarios are being examined, with the prevailing one providing for an intermediate rate between the current 15% and 35% applied to income portions from €12,001 to €35,000. There’s also a proposal to reduce the 15% rate currently applied to incomes up to €12,000, bringing it to 7%-8% for income portions up to €5,000 and maintaining it from €5,001 to €12,000, though this has reportedly weakened.
– Freelancers: Will benefit from changes to the tax scale and improvements to the imputed income system, with reduction of imputed income to 90% of the minimum wage.
– Security forces personnel: A new salary scale is planned for the Armed Forces and Security Corps, with increases up to 20%. From July 1, 2025, the “Special Working Conditions and Risk Allowance” of €100 monthly applies to all personnel, regardless of rank or service time.
– Living standard indicators: Particularly significant is the announcement regarding living standard indicators, which will be reduced by 30% from 2026 and gradually abolished with the expansion of electronic transactions. The goal is fairer taxation and protection mainly of employees and pensioners with low actual incomes, who today fall into the “trap” of imputed indicators.
