ATHENS — Finance Minister Christos Staikouras on Monday presented the new map of real estate price zones used to calculate property taxes, such as annual property tax ENFIA and taxes on property transfers, among others. He said the new map now covers 98 pct of all property within town planning areas, up from 85 pct previously, while he offered assurances that the changes will not place any additional burden on the middle classes or the overwhelming majority of property owners.

He said the aim of the changes was to make the new tax office values more closely aligned with market values, fixing any 'holes' and injustices, and also to broaden the tax base through a fairer distribution of the burden from ENFIA.

Staikouras announced that the ENFIA tax on property will also be restructured so as to 'absorb' the effect of the higher price zones, while he also announced new reductions in property tax generally.

"The increases in the objective property values do not mean increases in ENFIA. Owners should not worry….The overall burden on real estate property will remain at the same levels," he said, announcing that the new reduced ENFIA that will apply from 2022 will be announced in the coming months and will be paid in a greater number of installments than the present six.

He also announced that a digital platform will soon be available where property owners can get information about the new objective price zones, which now number 13,808, of which 3,643 are new or extensions of existing zones. He said increases would be mainly confined to tourist areas that were undertaxed until now.