Visitors Now:
Total Visits:
Total Stories:

By Wired Greek (Reporter)
Contributor profile | More stories

Story Views
Now:
Last Hour:
Last 24 Hours:
Total:

Savings account at Greek banks? Tax on interest rates increased to 15%, retroactive 1.1.2013

Tuesday, January 15, 2013 10:41

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.

(Before It's News)

They rip you off the moment, they smell you have a euro or two in your pocket or even worst at a bank savings account. Tax on interest rates from bank deposits and other bank products is increased from 10% to 15% and thus retroactive from 1. January 2013.

According to a statement by the Greek Banks Association (HBA), in accordance with the provisions of the recently adopted tax law, the tax rate on interest rates will be increased from 10% to 15% and banks will withhold the difference of 5% of the tax retroactive from 1. January 2013.

The tax increase refers to bank deposits, foreign bonds, repos, any form of securities issued by securities issued by subsidiaries of Greek banks abroad, bonds and Treasury bills of Greek state, Greek corporate bonds and securities issued in Greece by the European Investment Bank, the the International Funding Bank, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Development Bank.

In this context, banks operating in Greece are required to make retroactive withholding of the tax difference (5%) from 1.1.2013, starting on 14. January 2013.

In simple words: if you have 50,000 euro in bank deposit with a 3.5% interest rate, you have been receiving 1.750 euro in interest year per year – 10% tax (175 euro) = 1,575 euro per year. Or 145 euro per month – 10% tax = 131 euro.

With the new tax up of 15%, you will receive net just 1,488 euro per year or 124 euro per month.

Furthermore, you will have to pay to the state retroactive via the bank some 3,50 euro for the two first weeks of January 2013.

If you consider a state is so greedy because it needs to grab even 3,50 euro from your pocket, you ain’t see nothing yet… Think of all those having smaller amounts in the banks and will have to pay one euro or even less retroactive to the state.

Ridiculous!

PS I hope, I didn’t make any calculation mistake