Is the noise about 5% VAT on real estate justified? (VIDEO)

The implementation of the reduced rate of 5% VAT on property has caused some disruption in the market, however it does not appear to be affecting as many properties as it might be made out to be.

Speaking to Sigma and the show Mesimeri and Kati, real estate appraiser Pavlos Loizou noted that 65% of the permits issued in recent years concerned apartments with the average being 95 square meters. All of these fall within the boundaries we want to achieve. Therefore, he added, the whole discussion is to push as many properties as possible within the rates that the EU will accept.

For his part, the economist Stelios Platis noted that the whole issue should be resolved in the most sensitive way. As he said, I consider 110 square meters sufficient to practice social policy and somewhere there should be a middle solution, he said. However, he agreed with Mr. Loizou that we seem to be trying to fit as many properties as we can into the criteria and that seems to be the reason for the whole discussion. Therefore, he added, somewhere we have to pull the trigger and decide on the numbers so that the EU can accept them.

Source: Sigmalive