Filenews 5 July 2024 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
Even the timely posting of the income statements of employees and self-employed for the tax year 2023 by the Tax Department did not contribute to the tax compliance of taxpayers.
As of yesterday, according to data from the Tax Department, only one in four taxpayers have filed their tax returns.
Specifically, approximately 83,000 taxpayers have processed their tax return. Of these, about 69,000 taxpayers have definitively submitted their return and about 14,000 have processed their return and placed it on provisional receipt.
Last year, for the 2022 tax year, about 293,500 tax returns were definitively filed by the deadline and another approximately 5,000 remained in provisional receipt. In order for the declaration to be considered submitted, a final submission must be made.
The Commissioner of Taxation Sotiris Markides urged the public to make sure that they have submitted their return definitively, to avoid unpleasant consequences, such as the imposition of a €100 surcharge.
It is recalled that the submission of tax returns began in mid-May and was initially announced to be completed on July 31. However, after pressure from various bodies, the Tax Department decided to extend the submission of income returns until October 31.
The new extension granted may be one of the main reasons for low compliance by taxpayers. It is estimated that after the summer holidays tax returns will pick up speed and their number will increase.
As is known, the process of submitting the income declaration of a person without accounts for the tax year 2023 is done through the Taxisnet system. Employees, pensioners and self-employed persons whose gross total income for the tax year 2023 exceeds the amount of €19,500 are obliged to submit an Individual's Income Declaration for the tax year 2023.
Moreover, in its announcement yesterday, the Department of Taxation stated that, in the context of compliance with tax obligations, it is possible to submit, until October 31, 2024 without the imposition of an administrative fine, withholding tax & contribution declarations (TP 7) that have not been submitted on the specified date and which relate to the years from 2019 onwards. After this date, the prescribed charges will be imposed.
