Europe’s Biggest Family Bonus? Greece To Cut Taxes Based On Number Of Kids

Greece is gearing up for a awesome shake-up of its taxation system, and it each centres connected 1 thing: convincing group to person much children. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has unveiled a €1.76 cardinal package he plans to rotation retired successful 2026, pinch 1 headline-grabbing committedness astatine its halfway – families will salary little taxation depending connected really galore children they have.

The announcement, made successful Athens during a convention connected nan country’s demographic crisis, marks 1 of nan astir eager attempts yet to reverse Greece’s declining commencement rate, which is among nan lowest successful nan European Union. And Mitsotakis didn’t effort to dress up nan urgency of nan situation.

“For nan first time, Greece has a broad strategy to woody pinch nan demographic issue,” he told attendees, opinionated nether a banner simply reference “National Service”. “We are placing nan protection of nan family astatine nan bosom of our policy, pinch a taxation reward tied straight to nan number of children.”

It’s nan clearest motion yet that Greece is consenting to rewrite its taxation strategy to promote its citizens to turn their families — and quickly.

How nan taxation cuts would work

Under nan proposal, families pinch children would spot their income taxation rates fall, pinch reductions based connected nan number of children.

Here’s really nan first taxation bracket (up to €20,000 of yearly income) would change:

• One child: taxation drops from 22 to 18 per cent
• Two children: down to 16 per cent
• Three children: an moreover little rate
• Four aliases more: nan first taxation bracket would beryllium taxed astatine 0 per cent

Mitsotakis didn’t awkward distant from nan logic: “The much children a family has, nan little taxation it will pay.”

The authorities wants nan programme to commencement mini – pinch astir 3,000 families successful 2026 – earlier ramping up to 10,000 successful 2030 and 50,000 by 2035. The thought is to create a semipermanent strategy that supports families arsenic they turn alternatively than a one-off inducement that disappears aft a fewer years.

For a state that mislaid hundreds of thousands of young group during nan financial situation and still struggles pinch a shrinking workforce, officials spot this arsenic a basal investment, not a luxury.

A demographic situation that money unsocial can’t fix

Despite nan large fund down nan plan, Mitsotakis insisted that Greece’s demographic problem can’t simply beryllium solved pinch taxation cuts.

The state recorded conscionable 7.3 births per 1,000 inhabitants past twelvemonth – 1 of nan lowest rates successful Europe, up only of Spain and Italy. But nan Prime Minister warned that nan rumor runs deeper than economics.

“This is not only astir prosperity aliases financial stability,” he said. “There are different reasons we must analyse overmuch much profoundly if we want to lick it.”

Greece is acold from alone. Across Europe, governments are scrambling to find ways to promote younger generations to person children, from monthly allowances to subsidised childcare. But Mitsotakis’ scheme stands retired for its standard – and nan nonstop nexus it creates betwixt family size and taxation benefits.

And what astir migration?

With Greece’s working-age organization shrinking, nan mobility of whether migration could thief capable nan gaps inevitably surfaced.

Mitsotakis did not budge connected his patient line: “We are very strict erstwhile it comes to forbidden immigration. We will do everything successful our powerfulness to forestall anyone from entering our state illegally.”

He stressed, however, that Greece has thing to fearfulness from ineligible migration, particularly erstwhile it comes done bilateral agreements pinch countries for illustration India and Egypt. These arrangements, he said, thief meet labour demands while ensuring workers merge into Greek society.

Economic migrants, he noted, are expected to return location erstwhile their activity permits expire. As for refugees pinch world protection, “we must return attraction of them,” he added. He pointed retired that Greece precocious welcomed a constricted number of Sudanese refugees who will beryllium moving successful agriculture – a assemblage struggling pinch labour shortages.

The connection was clear: Greece will enactment reliable connected forbidden introduction but pragmatic erstwhile it comes to filling basal jobs.

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