After receiving a number of complaints by taxpayers who found themselves charged with an amount of notional income on which tax was calculated and due, the Greek Ombudsman published a report in which it concluded that the Greek Tax Administration does not provide adequate information to taxpayers on how to challenge notional income rules.
Notional income is calculated based on assumptions; taxpayers must be given the chance to challenge the assumptions, otherwise the assumptions are unconstitutional. The Ombudsman found that the information provided by the Tax Administration on this issue was practically non-existent. The Ombudsman identified two particular groups of taxpayers who suffer most by the lack of information: non-resident taxpayers and low-income or no-income taxpayers.
The Ombudsman recommends that the Tax Administration adopts certain measures to fill the gap in information:
- the Ministry of Finance must provide information on the internet and through the press in due time before the deadline for the filing of tax returns approaches;
- the same information must be mentioned on the tax assessment document issued by the Ministry and sent to taxpayers;
- the Tax Offices must also be able to provide adequate guidance to taxpayers.
The Ombudsman recommends that the Tax Administration adopts certain measures to fill the gap in information:
- the Ministry of Finance must provide information on the internet and through the press in due time before the deadline for the filing of tax returns approaches;
- the same information must be mentioned on the tax assessment document issued by the Ministry and sent to taxpayers;
- the Tax Offices must also be able to provide adequate guidance to taxpayers.
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