Report: Greece losing businesses to Bulgaria and freelancers to Cyprus

ATHENS – With Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras proclaiming Greece’s crisis is over, businesses and freelance professionals apparently don’t believe it as they continue to flee the country in search of better prospects elsewhere.

With the Radical Left SYRIZA leader reneging on campaign promises and burying Greeks and companies under an avalanche of new taxes and tax hikes, as well as the growing cost of social security contributions, data shows the number of Greek enterprises setting up shop on Cyprus grew 77 percent in 2016 from the year before, Kathimerini reported, with the trend continuing this year too.

From 1,012 Greek firms and freelancers moving to Cyprus in 2015, the number rose to 1,799 in 2016, bringing the total number of Greek businesses there to 5,200 from 2012 to December 2016.

Bulgaria, according to major tax adviser firms in Thessaloniki, has seen a 30 percent annual rise in the number of Greek companies and freelancers registering in the first half of the year.

Taxes and social security costs are far lower in Bulgaria and Cyprus than Greece, where the corporate rate is 29 percent, which hasn’t stopped Tsipras from saying foreign investors are eager to come to the country, although he didn’t mention major businesses closing, such as the 152-year-old iconic appliance manufacturer Pitsos.

One entrepreneur who relocated to Bulgaria told the paper that if he had not made the move he would not only have gone of business but would also have accrued huge debts and been unable to pay suppliers and banks.

But he said Greek tax inspectors are pressuring companies not to do business with him. There is no agreement between the countries to exchange data on companies.

The latest figures show there are about 15,000 Greek companies in Bulgaria, although Deputy Finance Minister Katerina Papanatsiou said earlier this month that eight in 10 Greek firms in Bulgaria have a registration number but no activity so they can evade taxes. There was no explanation if they are being chased.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Tilemahos Efthimiadis License: CC-BY-SA

Source: thenationalherald.com