Greece is expanding its brain regain tax incentive scheme to include highly skilled professionals who return from abroad to take salaried jobs in the public sector. The measure is aimed at doctors, researchers, engineers, professors and other specialized scientists currently working outside Greece who choose to relocate and work for the Greek State.
Public sector jobs now covered
The expansion was introduced through a joint decision by Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance Giorgos Kotsiras and Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR or AADE) Governor Giorgos Pitsilis.
Under the new framework, the tax incentive for transferring tax residence to Greece now also applies to individuals who will be employed as salaried workers in the Greek public sector.
The provision has retroactive effect and covers those who decide to move their tax residence to Greece and work for the State.
Seven years of tax benefits
Returning professionals who qualify for the scheme can receive tax benefits for seven years. The incentives include a 50% reduction in income tax on income earned from salaried work in Greece, as well as an exemption from deemed living expenses related to the main residence and vehicles.
To qualify, taxpayers must not have been tax residents of Greece for five of the six years before transferring their tax residence. They must also come from an EU or EEA country, or from a state that has an active tax cooperation agreement with Greece.
Applicants must work or carry out professional activity in Greece and declare that they will remain in the country for at least two years. The application process is fully digital through the myAADE portal.
Eurostat figures show Greece’s brain regain momentum
According to the latest Eurostat figures, 422,688 of the approximately 659,547 young people who left Greece between 2010 and 2023 had returned by 2023. That represents 64% of those who moved abroad during that period.
The figures also show that, in 2023, Greece recorded more returns than departures for the first time since 2009. Since 2020, around 6,000 Greeks living abroad have returned to Greece by making use of tax incentives.
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