Greece is ranking at the top of European Union countries with the highest taxation on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to an Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) survey.
Greece is at 29 percent, after the new tax measures were legislated last Sunday, right below Germany at 29.8 percent. However, the small difference is offset since small and medium-sized businesses in Greece have to pay a flat rate of 1,000-euro tax per year regardless of revenues.
The OECD data shows that other European countries have a more fair tax system for small businesses. For instance, France taxes SMEs at 15 percent, while big enterprises are taxed at 31.33 percent.
Even Belgium, that has the highest business tax rates, taxes enterprises with profits up to 25,000 annually at 24.798 percent.
Ireland has a low tax rate of 12.5 percent for businesses. In addition, new enterprises are not taxed for the first three years unless they make annual profits over 40,000 euros.
The Greek government has chosen to apply the 29 percent tax rate to all businesses, regardless of size. Greek economic analysts say that this will lead many SMEs to extinction or to become tax exiles and move to neighboring countries, such as Bulgaria where the tax on businesses is 10 percent.
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