The Thessaloniki Fair package: tax cuts, pay rises and new benefits

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a broad package of wage increases, tax reductions and new benefits from the platform of the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair. “Let the country’s dynamism become progress for everyone,” he said.

For self-employed workers, the government plans lower imputed-income rules for those who comply with tax obligations, with additional relief linked to turnover and payroll. The measures apply from 2026 for declarations filed in 2027. Imputed-income calculations will also fall by 50% in settlements with fewer than 2,000 residents, or 2,200 in Western Macedonia. The advance income-tax payment will fall to 50% from 55% for the 2027 tax year.

Businesses will receive a 5% annual reduction in advance tax from the 2028 tax year until the rate reaches 50%, down from 80%. The government will transfer 1.5 billion euros from the Recovery and Resilience Facility to the Development Bank for small and medium-sized enterprises, including 1.1 billion euros in lending and 400 million euros in guarantees. The business tax will be abolished in regional areas in the 2026 tax year, reduced by half in Attica in 2028 and abolished there in 2029.

Pensioners over 65 will receive a permanent annual payment of 400 euros from November 2026, an increase of 100 euros. The minimum wage is scheduled to rise to 1,000 euros, or 1,300 euros with three-year increments, by January 2028. Employee social-security contributions will fall by another 0.5 percentage points from April 2027. Public servants will receive a gross Christmas benefit of 500 euros from December 2027, along with further gross monthly wage increases of 80 euros by January 2028.

Professional farmers will pay no income tax on earnings up to 20,000 euros from the 2026 tax year. The minimum tax-free threshold will rise to 22,204 euros. The government also plans a “New Generation Fund” for newborns through age two, matching parental deposits up to 1,200 euros a year, with the limit rising 10% every five years. At age 18, the account is expected to exceed 60,000 euros. Families with three children will receive income-tax exemptions up to 20,000 euros from the 2027 tax year.

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Let the country’s dynamism become progress for everyone.