Greece
| Pros |
|---|
| Strategic Mediterranean location and rapidly improving digital infrastructure for global trade and remote operations. |
| Recent corporate tax rate reductions and attractive incentives for foreign investors and digital nomads. |
| Exceptional lifestyle quality with Mediterranean climate and high levels of personal safety and security. |
| Cons |
|---|
| Excessive social security contributions and complex bureaucratic requirements for daily business management. |
| Persistent corruption and slow judicial processes regarding contract enforcement and property rights protection. |
| Significant state interventionism and high public debt levels with negative impact on long-term fiscal predictability. |
Will Greece tax what you earn?
YES, A LOT. Greece taxes personal income heavily (top marginal rate 44%), and its definition of tax residence is wide: prolonged stay, economic centre of gravity, the net closes. The classic combo of high rate and broad catchment. Leaving is rarely as simple as buying a plane ticket.
Will Greece tax what you own?
YES, BUT LIGHTLY. Capital gains are taxed at a low 15% in Greece, but the country also applies an annual wealth tax (top rate 10%). Over a long holding period, the recurring charge can outweigh the realisation tax entirely.
| Heir | Top rate | Allowance |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse | 10% | EUR 150,000 |
| Children | 10% | EUR 150,000 |
| Siblings | 20% | EUR 30,000 |
| Other relatives | 20% | EUR 30,000 |
| Non-relatives | 40% | EUR 6,000 |
Is it easy to run a company in Greece?
YES, BUT TAXED. Corporate tax in Greece is 22%, but the tax isn't where this country hurts. It treats misuse of corporate assets as a criminal offense (the textbook case is the French abus de biens sociaux doctrine: using your own company's money for personal purposes can trigger prosecution, even as sole shareholder, because the company is a distinct legal person and your consent doesn't waive the offense). And it runs public corporate registries: your name as shareholder is queryable by anyone with a browser. For an owner-operator, those two combined are the real friction. Heavier than the rate, and far less negotiable. Running a clean structure is straightforward; running it casually isn't.
Is Greece good for your holding company?
YES. Greece offers a moderate treaty network (44 signed) paired with a full participation exemption (100% on qualifying dividends and gains). A respectable holding jurisdiction. Not in the NL/LU/SG elite tier on treaty count, but the through-flow is clean.
| Country | Status | Dividends | Interest | Royalties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
|
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| ∅ // no treaties match | ||||
What does it cost to come and go from Greece?
SOME. Greece taxes worldwide income while you're resident, but there's no exit tax on the way out. The cost of leaving is mostly paperwork: unrealised gains follow you to the next jurisdiction untouched.
Will Greece protect your privacy?
NOT AT ALL. Greece has signed every exchange framework that matters and operates a public corporate registry. Whatever you do here (earn, hold, structure) is reportable, accessible, or both. Privacy is not the strategy in this jurisdiction.
Is Greece itself a liability?
NO. Greece is clear of every major blacklist (FATF, EU, France, Spain, Portugal, Brazil) and sits inside FATF membership. Dealing with this jurisdiction is reputationally inert: no flags follow the transaction.
Will you feel free in Greece?
PARTLY. Greece is an EU member, which puts it on the trajectory of the digital euro: a programmable, traceable CBDC designed to run on the same rails as the currency itself. Under MiCA, crypto is regulated rather than banned, but the direction of travel for financial expression in the bloc is state-controlled rails by default. Press freedom may sit high (RSF rank #89); financial freedom is on a clear ratchet.
| Program | Status | Cross-border | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Digital Euro
A digital euro could support the Eurosystem's objectives by providing citizens with access to a safe form of money in the fast-changing digital world.
European Central Bank
|
RESEARCH | — | announce → |
|
Wholesale Digital Euro
Main motivations are to (i) consolidate and further develop the ongoing work of Eurosystem central banks in this area, and (ii) gain insight into how different solutions could facilitate interaction between TARGET real-time gross settlement (RTGS) services and DLT platforms.
European Central Bank
|
PILOT | — | — |
|
Stella
It explores the opportunity for using DLT to improve financial market infrastructure to support payment and securities settlement.
European Central Bank
|
RESEARCH | — | announce → |
Other jurisdictions worth comparing
Picked by similarity of strategic profile to Greece. No editorial ranking — neighbours in the same scoring space.