The government spokesperson Olga Gerovasili confirmed that farmers will face a 20% tax on their income for 2016 and 2017, while adding that the government will not back down from taxing them.
Meanwhile farmers across Greece are preparing to take to the streets in response to the imminent bailout-mandate increase of their taxes. At the same time, a number of documents leaked from the Tax Office suggest that tax evasion and fraud is rampant in the farming sector, as about nine in ten farmers declare an annual income of up to 5,000 euros.
About 400,000 farmers on the lowest tax scale, with two out of ten farmers declaring zero income or damages, four out of five declare an income of up to 1,000 euros and one in ten clams to earn between 1,001 and 2,000 euros. Of the 532,917 taxpayers who are farmers and earn income from farming, 396,383 declared an income of up to 2,000 euros, while 466,574 declared an income of up to 5,000 euros.
Sources from the Ministry of Finances further add that based on this data, a total income of 1.341 billion euros will be taxed 13%, with the average income of 2,518.10 euros facing a 349.81 euro tax.
