Green taxation in Greece, at the center of a conference of EY Greece and the Institute of European Environmental Policy

Conference on the green transition of the Greek tax system, co-organized by EY Greece and the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP).

The conference was part of the “Greening of taxes” project, financed by the European Union through the Technical Support Mechanism of the European Commission, and implemented in our country by teams from the Ministry of National Economy and Finance, EY Greece, the Athens University of Economics, of the Foundation for Economic & Industrial Research (IOBE) and the IEEP.

The two-day hybrid conference took place on April 8 and 9 in Athens, with the aim of contributing to the formulation of environmental tax policy proposals in Greece, in the broader context of the green transition.

At the opening of the conference, Mr. Spyros Dimitriou, Partner of EY Greece and Head of Advisory Services for Public Sector and European Institutions projects, noted among other things: “This meeting, as a policy tool, is held to actively feed the policy formulation process , documenting cutting edge proposals and best and scientifically proven practices. As part of a sequence of stages and tools that will follow in the coming months, it aims to delve into critical issues and feed the next phases of environmental tax policy formation in our country, with evidence. and scientific data. Therefore, this meeting will be the first fundamental step in a broad, systematic and multi-level process of shaping the environmental tax policy in Greece, as well as the economic models for measuring their results. And, as a first step, they will follow it and others, among which the dissemination of the results, for which the ambition is to go beyond the borders of Greece, acting as a model, as well as, ultimately, making available to the Ministry of National Economy and Finance, a useful and utilitarian reform tool”.

Ms. Constantina Galli, Partner, EY Tax Services Greece, underlined: “Within the EU Green Deal, there are broader goals to which we are committed as a country and which require alignment at a multinational level. However, it is self-evident that these policies may differ for Greece. Therefore, it is critical to identify environmental policy priorities and translate them into green tax policies. At the national level, there is a positive mood for environmental tax reform – already, significant work has been done by the Ministry of Environment and Energy with the development of national plans, being the cornerstone of the effort.At the same time, society is equally aware of the necessity of this change, especially in light of the intense weather phenomena we have been experiencing in recent years. Of course, no it is the size of Greece that will make the difference in the wider context of Europe’s green transition, however our expectation is that the effort made through this project will be utilized and spread to other European countries, acting as a model for the environmental tax policy”.

The individual sections of the conference focused on the following topics:

– “Green taxes – a national and European perspective”: the political context and priorities related to green tax policy in Greece and the EU.
– Overview of the existing tax framework of Greece, its alignment with the EU objectives, and the expected benefits, but also the challenges
– Examples and best practices of green and environmental tax reform, from the E.U.
– Trends, developments and use of economic models for green taxation
– The role of biodiversity, zero pollution and the circular economy in the development of environmental tax policies

At the conference, it is noted that the Greek Government was represented with a speech by the Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Haris Theocharis. At the same time, among other experts and scientists from Greece and Europe, Mrs. Nathalie Berger, Director, Support to Member State reforms, DG REFORM, European Commission, Mr. Nikos Vettas, Director General, IOBE and Professor, participated as speakers. Athens University of Economics and Business, and Mr. Eero Yrjö-Koskinen, Executive Director, IEEP.